Canstar Blue’s 2020 supermarket bakeries review sees Woolworths, Coles and IGA rated on their quality and freshness of products, variety of products, deals, value for money, customer service, store layout and overall satisfaction.
See our Ratings Methodology.
IGA rose to the top of Canstar Blue’s supermarket bakery ratings, earning five-star reviews for quality & freshness of products, product variety, deals & specials available, customer service, store layout and overall satisfaction.
Whether you like to eat a baguette, brioche or bagel for breakfast, your local supermarket bakery will surely have it stocked. With the convenience of being just the next aisle over while you do the rest of your grocery shop, why would you go anywhere else? With 45% of Aussies purchasing something from the bakery every grocery trip, according to our recent survey, we thought we’d help you find which supermarket bakery is cooking up the best range of breads, muffins and the rest.
This year, we surveyed more than 1,500 shoppers about their experiences buying from their local supermarket bakery, with their collective feedback forming our customer satisfaction ratings. Survey respondents were asked to score the supermarket bakery they most recently purchased from across a range of factors relating to customer service, store layout & presentation, the quality of their products, as well as variety and freshness, value for money, special deals and overall satisfaction. Supermarket chains that received at least 30 responses are compared in our latest ratings.
So, which supermarket bakery do Aussies knead the most? IGA was rated best, scoring five-star reviews for overall customer satisfaction and most other categories.
Here are the best supermarket bakeries in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
IGA came out piping hot in our latest review, being the only supermarket chain to receive a five-star review for overall satisfaction. Coles managed to stir up the results when it earned full marks for value for money, beating this year’s champion, but ultimately wrapped things up on a respectable four stars overall, alongside Woolworths.
Alongside finding out which supermarket bakery Aussies love best, we also wanted to get an insight into what consumers are putting in their shopping trolleys. Here are the different goodies our survey respondents most recently bought from a supermarket bakery:
While it’s no surprise that bread is the most purchased item from the bakery, it seems that a few of us also can’t resist treating ourselves to some sweet baked goods (38%). And let’s not forget about getting a cheeky cheese & bacon roll and other savoury pastries (27%).
From our research, almost half of Aussies (46%) have tried multiple supermarket bakery breads, with 44% of all respondents preferring bakery bread over packaged bread, and 31% mainly buying specialty breads such as sourdough or tiger bread.
While your first decision when it comes to buying bread is choosing between multigrain, wholemeal or white, you’ll also have to think about what type of slice you want, if you want it sliced at all! This is what our survey respondents picked:
With most packaged bread typically sliced thin, it’s not surprising that when consumers get their bread from the bakery, they opt for a thicker slice.
The Independent Grocers of Australia (IGA) has more than 1,400 locations across Australia, featuring both small corner shops and sprawling supermarkets. Its bakery section features all of your favourite breads, as well as bagels, French bread and muffins, not to mention numerous sweet treats depending on your cravings!
With more than 800 stores across the country, Coles is likely to have you sorted no matter what you’re after. Its bakery section includes cakes, tarts, breads, pastries, bagels, pitas, flatbreads and much more. Coles also provides options for shoppers with specific dietary requirements, including vegetarian, GMO, dairy, egg, gluten and yeast free options.
Woolworths has close to 1,000 locations around Australia, giving you plenty of options if you’re looking to pick up tasty treats or specialty breads, with its range featuring foods such as tarts, bread, cakes, as well as sweet treats including profiteroles and pinwheels. You’ll also find different types of breads from wholemeal to grain, to four seed loaves, with options available for those after high fibre, soy-free or vegan options.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.
Picture credits: SeventyFour/Shutterstock.com, LightField Studios/Shutterstock.com, Oksana.Bondar/Shutterstock.com.
Canstar Blue surveyed 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have made a purchase from a retail supermarket bakery (i.e. fresh bread section) in the last month (this refers to physical stores, not online ones) – in this case, 1,559 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
2019
