Tesco is the UK’s least favourite grocer, a new survey has found.

The consumer insights firm Market Force Information asked 6,800 British shoppers about their purchasing habits and compiled a loyalty score for each supermarket brand based on customers’ satisfaction and their likelihood to refer that store to others.

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Tesco was the only retailer to fall into the bottom three across all six categories in question, including availability of items, checkout speed, cashier courtesy, ability to find items and specialty department service. The supermarket was also rated the worst grocer for store cleanliness.

“The competition between supermarkets is extremely fierce,” said Cheryl Fink, chief strategy officer at Market Force Information. “When supermarkets deliver across all six attributes, shoppers are almost three times more likely to recommend it to others. That’s a huge increase and one that supermarkets need to pay attention to in today’s market conditions."

Recent turmoil at Tesco led to a £6.4bn pre-tax loss for the year to February 28, the largest ever reported by a retailer and the sixth biggest in British corporate history.

The results capped a difficult few years for Tesco. In September, Britain's biggest retailer discovered a gap in its accounts that is now estimated to be more than £300m.

The value of Tesco’s brand declined by 37pc to $9.4m over the past year, while the wider retail sector grew 24pc, according to WPP’s latest BrandZ ranking. The grocery giant was beaten in brand value for the first time by Aldi. The rising popularity of discount food retailers, such as Aldi and Lidl, has forced the UK's traditional supermarkets to slash prices to stem falling sales.

The Market Force Information survey did find one area where Tesco shines: the supermarket was ranked top for online ordering, followed by Asda and Sainsbury’s.