Supermarket substitutions: What’s your weirdest swap?

Which? found 29% of online grocery shoppers said they received a substitution in their most recent order, with some stating that they had received some unexpected replacements over the last year.

However, the Which? findings suggest computer-generated replacements may be wide of the mark.

Almost half of Asda shoppers received a replacement product in their last order, the survey suggests, and they gave the supermarket just two stars out of five for its choice of substitute items.

How do supermarkets choose which items to substitute?

Supermarkets tend to consider factors such as brand similarity, the price and availability when selecting substitutions, aiming to provide the closest possible match to the original order.

One customer reported receiving bananas instead of pizza, another found a roasting tin in place of roast potatoes and a third said they had been given micellar water facial cleanser instead of drinking water.

The poll found a third of Sainsbury’s customers (32%) found a substitution in their latest shop, although the grocer received three stars for its selections, suggesting they were generally well-received.

Among the more bizarre examples reported to Which? were beef dog treats instead of beef steaks and leeks instead of flowers.

Among the 31% of Morrisons customers sent replacement items was one who said they found sanitary towels instead of sandwich wraps and another who received fish steaks in place of lemon cupcakes.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said: “We have reviewed all of the online substitutions for the last 800 days as they all have to be logged and we have no record of the ones Which? is claiming. So it sounds to us like it could be an urban myth.”

Just over a quarter (27%) of Amazon Fresh customers received replacement items in their most recent online shop, including one shopper who reported finding six bags of jelly sweets instead of free-range eggs.

The quarter of online Tesco shoppers who received replacement items awarded the UK’s biggest supermarket three stars for its selection creativity, with one finding orange-flavour vitamins instead of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and another finding they had bought cat food in place of ham.

While many saw the funny side of substitutions, Which? heard from several customers who complained about receiving meat or dairy instead of vegetarian or vegan alternatives.

One received cheese instead of lactose-free cheese and another received an item that contained gluten when a gluten-free item had been requested.

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Some supermarkets allow customers to opt out of receiving replacement items altogether but most will notify customers about substitutions beforehand via email or text and allow them to refuse the new item if they do not want it.

All the supermarkets in Which?’s survey allow customers to hand back unwanted substitutions to the delivery driver, or when they pick up a click and collect, and receive a refund.

Which? Money and Retail editor Reena Sewraz said: “While some product substitutions in your online food delivery can be welcome, our research has shown that they can also be well wide of the mark – ranging from strange to completely inappropriate.

“If you receive a replacement that you don’t want, you can reject it on arrival or you sometimes can opt out of receiving substitutions altogether, although your dinner plans could be disrupted if key ingredients don’t show up.

“If you do end up with something you won’t use, always contact the supermarket and ask for a refund.”

An Asda spokesman said: “We always let our customers know when their order contains a substitution and customers are able to opt out of receiving any at all.

“Our own data shows the vast majority of substitute items are accepted, and overall customer satisfaction is high, so we have asked Which? to provide us with the details of these orders so that we can investigate what may have happened in these instances.”

Sainsbury’s said: “We want our customers to have the best possible experience when they shop with us.

“If a product a customer has chosen for their groceries online order is no longer available, our colleagues are trained to pick an alternative that’s as close as possible to the original item.

“We’re sorry that on the rare occasion this might not be quite right, our customer satisfaction scores tell us that our substitutions have improved over the last few years.”