Survey: Wegmans, Publix are shoppers’ favorite grocery stores
LOUISVILLE, Colo. — Non-traditional grocery shopping methods are on the rise, but traditional supermarkets still are tops with consumers.
Wegmans and Publix Super Markets are America’s favorite grocery retailers, tying for first place in a consumer study of more than 12,700 shoppers conducted by Market Force Information (Market Force). Trader Joe’s is a very close second and H-E-B ranks third. This is the second consecutive year that Wegmans has held the top spot in the annual study, after unseating long-running favorite Trader Joe’s in 2016.
Publix and Wegmans both scored 77% on Market Force’s Customer Loyalty Index. Trader Joe’s narrowly missed the lead spot with 76%, and H-E-B made the top three for the first time with 69% – a 10% increase from 2016. Aldi and Harris Teeter rounded out the top five with 68% and 66%, respectively.
The use of click-and-collect has more than doubled since 2016, with 9% of consumers having tried it, compared to 4% in 2016, according to the report. Of those, 78% were satisfied or very satisfied with the experience. Most click-and-collect shoppers use the service at Walmart, followed by Kroger, Sam’s Club and Harris Teeter. Twenty-six percent are frequent users, taking advantage of click-and-collect at least monthly.
Home delivery services are also growing in popularity – 18% of respondents said they used grocery home delivery, compared to 15% in 2016. Most are using the service through general online retailers such as Amazon and Jet. However, one-fifth were less than satisfied with the experience, leaving ample room for improvement.
Other study highlights include:
Aldi has the best value, Publix has the best selection, speediest checkouts and cleanest stores, and Trader Joe’s has the friendliest cashiers;
H-E-B gained quite a bit of ground – it was 7th last year and 3rd this year;
Twenty-six percent use grocery delivery at least monthly, up from 20% in 2016; and
Use of printed circulars has spiked in the past year, and 79% plan their shopping based on the deals offered.