Regional grocers 'winning with relevance and convenience'

CHICAGO – H-E-B was rated the top U.S. grocery according to the third annual dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index (RPI), a nationwide study of the $700 billion U.S. Grocery market. The San Antonio-based supermarket operator took over the top spot from Trader Joe’s, which had held it for two years, and also moved ahead of Amazon and Costco.

The other grocery retailers with the highest overall customer preference index scores are: 2) Trader Joe’s, 3) Amazon, 4) Market Basket, 5) Wegmans Food Markets, 6) Costco, 7) Aldi, 8) Sam’s Club, 9) Walmart, 10) Publix, 11) WinCo Foods, 12) Fresh Thyme, 13) Sprouts Farmers Markets, 14) ShopRite. The RPI study surveyed 7,000 U.S. households to determine which of the top 60 largest grocery retailers have the strongest combination of financial performance and consumer emotional sentiment.

“One of the most important findings is that leading traditional regional grocers are experiencing a resurgence in customer preference, by winning with relevance and convenience,” said Jose Gomes, President of North America for dunnhumby. “If they can compete on price and quality — the value core for grocers — they are especially well-positioned to fend off the growing threat of non-traditional players. This also leaves them better insulated against an economic downturn. In the end, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to winning in this market, and retailers with Customer First strategies are most likely to fare best.”

The overall RPI ranking evaluates retailer performance on seven pillars: price, quality, digital, operations, convenience, discounts/rewards and speed, according to dunnhumby, which said that the retailers who focus their business on superior value perception — defined by the strongest combination of price and quality — tend to have the greatest financial success and the strongest emotional bond with customers.