I thought to myself: “‘Most-Trusted’ Grocer? Trusted for what?” Low prices? Cleanliness? Having what I want? So I HAD to read on… And I found ‘Grocery’ is just one category in a long list of Brands rated every year…
The supersurvey is conducted every year by BrandSpark, a business research form that specializes in gathering information on ‘brand awareness and loyalty’…
Large sample
BrandSpark asks a wide range of questions to a large sample of ordinary folks about the brands they buy and the brands they trust most. This year’s effort consulted 35,215 U.S. shoppers, encompassing 182,000 brand evaluations across 359 categories.
A shakeup…
No surprise that Walmart came in first. They have large stores, with super selection, and such strong buying power that their retail prices have stayed relatively low compared to smaller competitors.
A relative newcomer to the US supermarket sector, Aldi, finished in second place overall. But it’s worth noting that Aldi was competing in the Small Format Grocery Store subcategory, while Walmart was placed in the Conventional Supermarket niche.
Kroger – a midwestern regional giant – came in third overall. It must have been a sad day at the head office when it was announced that upstart Aldi had edged them out for second place.
The numbers
Walmart swept the major ‘Trust’ categories, taking 12 of the total 22 classifications in the Grocery group.
- Conventional Supermarket (non-discount, South)
- Discount Supermarket (West, tied with Grocery Outlet)
- Grocery Store for Customer Service (national)
- Grocery Store for Low Prices/Affordability (South) West)
- Grocery Store for Low Prices/Affordability (West)
- Grocery Store for Store Brand/Private Label Products (national)
- Supermarket for Quick & Easy Shopping (national)
- Supermarket for Sales & Promotions (national)
- Superstore/Hypermarket (Midwest)
- Superstore/Hypermarket (Northeast)
- Superstore/Hypermarket (South)
- Superstore/Hypermarket (West)
Aldi managed to score in 8 classifications:
- Discount Supermarket (Midwest)
- Discount Supermarket (Northeast)
- Discount Supermarket (South)
- Grocery Store for Low Prices/Affordability (Midwest)
- Grocery Store for Low Prices/Affordability (Northeast)
- Small Format Grocery Store (Midwest)
- Small Format Grocery Store (Northeast)
- Small Format Grocery Store (South)
But Kroger managed to top only 2 classifications:
- Conventional Supermarket, non-discount (Midwest)
- Grocery Loyalty Program (national)
That’s a pretty decisive victory for Walmart, though Aldi is definitely moving up in the backstretch…
In Canada…
The picture in Canada is much different, and far more fragmented. There are so many different stores, under so many different corporate banners, each with its own store brands and other features, that a fair head-to-head comparison is a practical impossibility.
Nevertheless, BrandSpark surveyed, “45,394 Canadian shoppers who collectively provided 240,033 brand evaluations across 363 categories.”
As for ‘trust’… The term seems to be equivalent to ‘loyalty’ in Canada – more important than price or selection!
My take
So… It turns out the Most-Trusted Awards cover everything you want to trust your supermarket for. Price, selection, Promotions. Even Loyalty programs.
It’s clear that bigger is definitely better, at least according to American poll respondents. But I sus-pect that’s a carry-over effect from what we observed about Walmart. Being bigger just naturally lends itself to better selection and lower prices.
Disclaimer: I have equally convenient access to Walmart and my go-to Canadian supermarket chain within 10 minutes of home. I may go to Walmart for cheap gym socks or a special sale on a brand I love… But I customarily patronize to my ‘go-to’ supermarket on a day-to-day basis. There’s a comfort level there.
And I’ve found that the overall quality of the meat and produce at my go-to has a definite edge over Walmart’s. And there’s a much better selection of off-brand and down-brand products, to fit my budget – no matter what time of the month is.
Finally… I’m not a rabid Canadian nationalist. But I like to think I’m ‘buying Canadian’…
~ Maggie J.