The proportion of consumers satisfied with German-owned Australian supermarket Aldi is once again comfortably higher than Australia’s other three major supermarket chains, according to market research organisation Roy Morgan Research.

In November 2012, both Coles and Woolworths came within 1 per cent point of Aldi, making it the closest race in five years.

But the latest results from the Roy Morgan Supermarket Satisfaction report show Aldi edging back toward the nine-out-of-ten mark, with 89.7 per cent of its customers agreeing they were satisfied with the supermarket overall.

Woolworths, which was the only major supermarket to improve in 2012, maintained second place is the satisfaction ranking, with 87.4 per cent of its customers saying they were satisfied. Coles was not far behind, with 86.2 per cent satisfaction levels. IGA customers satisfaction level was at 83.7 per cent.

All the supermarkets have seen customer satisfaction levels rise and fall over the last six years. Overall, Aldi has seen a slight drop in satisfaction levels over that time, from 92.3 per cent in February 2009, to its current 89.7 per cent mark.

Both Woolworths and Coles have improved on their customer satisfaction levels. In February 2009, customer satisfaction with Woolworths stood at 84.3 per cent, a little higher than Coles customer satisfaction levels at the time, which were at 83.9 per cent.

IGA customer satisfaction has had an overall drop in the six years from February 2009, from 86.7 per cent to the current 83.7 per cent.

“What an interesting year 2012 was for supermarket satisfaction, with long-time leader Aldi almost topped from the top of the podium,” said Norman Morris, Roy Morgan Research Industry Communications Director. “Late 2012 also saw Woolworths edge ahead of Coles for the first time since 2010, reaching a five-year high in their satisfaction result. Meanwhile, satisfaction with Coles is continuing to trend downward from its peak just shy of 90 per cent a year ago” he said.

“The Supermarket Satisfaction Report also looks at how satisfied ‘bigger-basket’ grocery buyers are: among customers with an average weekly spend above $200, Woolworths is ahead of Aldi and more than three percentage points in front of Coles,” Mr Morris said.

“Satisfaction is naturally a crucial battleground in the supermarket wars. Dissatisfied customers are unlikely to continue to shop at a particular supermarket if they have an alternative, and even worse are likely to ‘spread the word’ about their dissatisfaction,” Mr Morris said. “Therefore, monitoring satisfaction levels is paramount to understanding where loyalties lie and how customers of different ages, basket sizes or neighbourhoods rate their supermarket of choice,” he said.

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