Survey: Customers Adore Kroger and Whole Foods… Walmart, Not So Much
When we shop for groceries, we want the meat and produce to be fresh. We appreciate good customer service. And we like a bargain.
When it comes to customer satisfaction at the supermarket, you’ll see various surveys that rank different grocery stores at the top. Sometimes you’re king of the hill, and sometimes you’re not.
A new survey puts Kroger at the top. Kroger! That’s a different result than some other surveys we’ve seen.
Morning Consult, a public opinion data company, got the opinion of nearly 200,000 consumers on 500 of America’s biggest brands.
When it came to grocery stores, 53% had a favorable view toward Kroger. Whole Foods was second with 48%, and Safeway followed at 40%. Regional chains Albertsons and Publix were each at 33%.
If you’re going to check out any these supermarkets to see if you like them as much as other customers do, you should check out our tips on saving. Here are our money-saving secrets for shopping at Kroger, Whole Foods and Publix.
No matter where you’re grabbing your grub, don’t miss our tips and tools to save money on groceries.
What’s the Best Grocery Store? Depends Who You Ask
So according to this new survey, Kroger is king. Yay, Kroger! But like we mentioned, different surveys have shown us different results.
For instance, the American Customer Satisfaction Index conducts an in-depth survey of customer satisfaction at grocery stores every year. Most recently, the highest-ranking chains in ACSI’s survey were Trader Joe’s, Publix, Aldi, H-E-B, Wegmans and Whole Foods, in that order.
Kroger was in the middle of the pack.
Ranked lowest: Walmart.
Walmart was also at the bottom of Consumer Reports’ grocery store ranking. Consumer Reports surveyed its readers, asking them to rank supermarket chains based on factors like freshness, selection, cleanliness, customer service and prices.
In fact, Walmart is routinely ranked the worst for customer satisfaction among grocery stores, even though more Americans buy their groceries at Walmart than anywhere else.
Time magazine spells out the reason why Walmart has become Americans’ most popular destination for groceries: “For a large portion of shoppers, price simply trumps all when it comes to groceries.”
If you’re shopping for food at Walmart, you’re probably doing it to save money. Here’s how to save even more money there.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. Full disclosure: He personally shops at Aldi, Publix, Winn-Dixie or Walmart, depending on his family’s needs and what’s on sale.
