Pizza for peaches? Strangest supermarket substitutions revealed

From fruit instead of fruity shower gel to a potato instead of crisps, Which? reveals the strangest substitutions shoppers shared with us in our latest supermarkets survey.

We quizzed more than 3,000 shoppers in our annual supermarkets survey, and asked those who shop online to tell us the weirdest substitutions they'd received.

Replacements ranged from the silly to the downright bizarre. We even heard about some substitutions that could have potentially harmed their recipients due to their dietary requirements.

We explain all below, also revealing how different supermarkets inform you of substitutions and, crucially, who foots the bill if the replacement item is more expensive.

Which supermarkets are most likely to send substitutions?

If an item you've ordered isn't available, most supermarkets will send a substitution in its place. 

When we surveyed thousands of shoppers about their experiences with the UK's eight biggest online supermarkets, just over a third reported receiving a substitution in their most recent grocery order from at least one of the online supermarkets they were asked about. 

The table below shows the breakdown for each supermarket, and the star ratings awarded by customers for the choice of substitutions given. 

Asda tops the table with 56% of shoppers receiving a replacement. Customers felt the choice of substitution was poor, too, giving it just two stars. 

Lidl doesn't offer online shopping currently. Amazon Fresh does feature in our best and worst online supermarkets results, but it doesn't currently offer substitutions so wasn't included in this part of the survey.

• Find out more: best and worst supermarkets

The strangest substitutions

We asked shoppers to tell us the strangest substitutions they'd received in the past 12 months.

These were some of the silliest swaps:

• Aldi – fruit sweets instead of fruit salad 
• Asda – fruit-scented shower gel instead of fruit 
• Iceland – frozen pizza instead of tinned peaches 
• Morrisons – onions instead of cheese and onion crisps
• Ocado – mushrooms instead of tampons
• Sainsbury's – allergy tablets instead of an anti-allergy duvet 
• Tesco – Jacob's cream crackers instead of Christmas crackers 
• Waitrose – baked beans instead of soup

We also heard from shoppers who received a potato instead of crisps, cheese instead of milk, toilet roll instead of kitchen roll and all-butter pastry instead of a block of butter. 

• Find out more: the cheapest supermarket of the month

The serious side of substitutions  

Poorly chosen grocery substitutions may be a nuisance, but for some the implications could be more serious.

We heard from several shoppers with dietary requirements who'd received items that weren't suitable. These included:

• Regular cheese instead of lactose-free (Tesco) 
• Gluten-containing food instead of gluten-free version (Asda)
• Meat sausages instead of vegetarian ones (Waitrose)
• Mayonnaise instead of vegan mayonnaise (Tesco)
• Meat-based ready meals instead of veggie ones (Sainsbury's)

We also heard from one shopper who had ordered size 6+ nappies (for toddlers over 16kg) from Asda and was sent size 3 (for babies up to 10kg) instead – a potentially messy mistake.

• Find out more: loyalty cards compared

Supermarket substitution policies

Different supermarkets have different policies for substitutions. Some allow you to opt out of substitutions altogether, while at others you'll need to add a note to a specific item or reject them on the doorstep.

At Morrisons and Ocado you'll pay the price of the replacement product, which may be more than your original choice. This is also the case at Sainsbury's, though it does at least give you a voucher for the difference.

All supermarkets let you hand back any unwanted substitutions to the driver or click and collect team when you receive your shopping.

• Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket