Asda review

Asda promises its customers that they can 'save money, live better' - but does it offer value for money and is its food fresh?

In the annual Which? supermarkets survey, over 1,000 Asda customers rated the retailer on everything from queuing time to the quality of its food and value for money. 

This enabled us to work out star ratings for different factors as well as an overall customer score.

Are Asda supermarkets any good?

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Is Asda's online delivery service any good?

As well as accessing the supermarket scores, logging in or joining Which? will enable you to see how Asda products fared when we reviewed products including champagne, cheese, and cleaning products, such as washing-up liquid and dishwasher tablets.

How fresh is the food in Asda deliveries? 

We went undercover to find out how the supermarkets compare when it comes to delivering fresh food, using a team of mystery shoppers to order more than 1,000 groceries in the first – and biggest – comparison of its kind. 

During the course of the investigation, our mystery shoppers took delivery of items that were already out of date by the time they were delivered, groceries that were within their use-by date but looked too manky to eat, and one item with a completely illegible use-by date.

Log in or join Which? to discover which supermarkets will deliver the freshest produce - and which ones could leave you with past-it produce that's dangerous to eat. 

How safe are Asda stores in the pandemic?

When we surveyed Asda shoppers in October 2020, 70% rated its in-store COVID-19 measures as good or excellent. Find out how this compares to the other supermarkets in our survey by visiting Supermarkets compared.

At the time of publishing this page (Feb 2021), Asda is refusing entry to anyone without a face covering except for those who are medically exempt. It told Which? it would offer them for free to shoppers who don't bring one.

Asda is adding an antimicrobial coating to all basket and trolley handles, which it claims can reduce the spread of bacteria and deactivate viruses, and has introduced 'Scan & Go' mobile. This lets shoppers use their smartphone to scan items they put into their basket or trolley to reduce contact. 

For the latest on the measures supermarkets are taking in the pandemic read our coronavirus supermarkets news story.

Asda in the news

In January 2021 Asda became the first supermarket to provide in-store COVID-19 vaccinations. It also said it would offer 5,000 nurseries priority access to delivery slots to help them provide services to parents during lockdown.       

The billionaire Issa brothers are due to take over ownership of Asda in February 2021 (subject to approval by the CMA), meaning the supermarket is set to return to British ownership for the first time in 21 years. Its previous owner Walmart retains a minority share in the company.

In February 2020, Asda removed cartoons from 12 of its own-brand cereals to make the sugary foods less appealing to children. It has since continued to change the packaging of more of its sugar-laden items, such as ice creams and lollies. 

Asda's plastic packaging

In April 2019, we investigated how much of supermarket plastic packaging is recyclable. We ordered 46 of the most popular own-brand items from 11 major UK supermarket chains. We found 51% of Asda's packaging, by item, was widely recyclable at the kerbside.

We also looked at how much of the packaging was correctly labelled with recycling advice. We found 78% of Asda packaging was correctly labelled. See how Asda compares to other supermarkets and find out more about supermarket plastic packaging.

And if you want to know whether Asda Opticians are any good, check out our guide to the best and worst opticians.

Find out more

• Best and worst supermarkets: see how the big players compare
• Supermarket price comparison: which is the UK's cheapest grocer?
• Best Buy food and drink: from prosecco to burgers, what impressed our experts?