Two-in-five - 39 per cent - of shoppers have received a replacement item in their most recent shop according to research from consumer research group Which?.

The research group surveyed over 1,300 online supermarket shoppers from nine supermarkets about whether they had received a substitution with their latest grocery order.

Aldi was, by a narrow margin, the most likely of the supermarkets surveyed to put substitutions in customer orders, with 49 per cent of its customers saying they had received a replacement item in their most recent shop.

Just under half - 48 per cent - of customers who had ordered online at Sainsbury’s had received a substitution, compared to 45 per cent of Asda shoppers, and 43 per cent of Morrisons shoppers.

Iceland online shoppers were the least likely to get a replacement, with only one in five - 18 per cent - of customers affected on their most recent shop.

Just over four-in-ten – 41 per cent – of customers at Ocado reported getting substitutions, compared with 39 per cent of Tesco customers, 36 per cent of Waitrose customers, and 26 per cent of Amazon Fresh customers.

Around a third of shoppers surveyed - 31 per cent - told Which? their biggest frustration with online supermarket shopping was items not being available, while items being substituted came second at 19 per cent.

“While product substitutions in your online shopping can sometimes be genuinely helpful, our research has shown that they can also be downright ridiculous,” said Ele Clark, retail editor at Which?. “You do have the right to reject substitutions at the point of delivery, or you could opt out of receiving substitutions altogether - though this can result in a real headache if the key ingredient for your dinner that night is missing.”

She added: “If you do end up with a substitution that you don’t want, always contact the supermarket and ask for a refund.”

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