BrandSpark International announces 5th annual most trusted grocery retailers in America

BrandSpark surveyed 10,082 Americans in the BrandSpark American Grocery Trust Study.

BrandSpark International

In partnership with Newsweek and Winsight Grocery Business, BrandSpark International announces the fifth annual grocery edition of its "BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards," as voted by American shoppers. BrandSpark surveyed 10,082 Americans in the BrandSpark American Grocery Trust Study to capture their real opinions of which grocery stores they trust the most. Trust leaders were identified by 8 store formats nationally and in four major regions and across 36 key attributes, including the top 5 grocery retailers nationally.

After a year of spiking prices for household groceries, this list can help Americans choose a store that is trusted by other shoppers and best suits their needs in 2023.

"Now that the holidays have passed, retailers need to work on building a strong 2023 by prioritizing trust building initiatives with consumers", says Adam Bellisario, AVP of BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards. "As inflation continues to hit grocery categories heavily, conventional stores with strong private label offerings are going to be popular with consumers because they can meet [consumers'] needs in terms of price and effective options," says Philip Scrutton, VP of shopper insights, BrandSpark International. "We are already seeing retailers like Walmart and Aldi performing very well nationally. [...] Both brands not only have an extremely strong presence but offer consumers attractive private label options offering greater value than national brands, which is very attractive to consumers who will continue to see their grocery budgets being stretched. Despite inflation, the trust drivers are remarkably stable – suggesting that retailers should stick to their strategies. Even with shoppers' increased focus on prices, quality-driven conventional grocers still rank highly in each region, including Kroger (South and Midwest), Safeway (West), Publix (South) and ShopRite (Northeast)," says Philip Scrutton.

Notable findings regarding the most important drivers of grocer trust (attributes)

Aldi, H-E-B and Walmart are most trusted for affordability.
H-E-B, Walmart and Kroger are strongest for store brand/private label products.
H-E-B, ShopRite and Kroger deliver on fresh produce.
H-E-B is most trusted for quality fresh food and an enjoyable in-store experience.
Kroger, H-E-B and ShopRite deliver the most valuable circulars.
Walmart is #1 for curbside pickup while Amazon Fresh leads for delivery.

Notable findings regarding trust across eight key store formats

Aldi is the most trusted discount and small format grocer. Walmart is the most trusted conventional grocer nationally but faces some stiff competition regionally, where ShopRite is #1 in the Northeast, and Kroger is #1 in the Midwest.

Other findings

Rapidly expanding "dollar store" retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree had the highest shopper reach increase in 2022, with Dollar General topping the list as most trusted dollar store chain.
2022 saw 44% of shoppers ordering groceries online, consistent with 45% in 2021. Half of these shoppers ordered from Walmart, versus 1 in 6 from Amazon Fresh, but Amazon Fresh achieved the greatest growth.
Club stores strengthened trust with existing members who relied on them even more in 2022 for bulk orders at fair prices. BJ's Wholesale Club, Sam's Club and Costco Wholesale all increased trust with their own shoppers.
Grocer Food Lion built trust with fair prices and loyalty rewards, and it paid off: achieving the highest trust growth, increasing their trust score and jumping from #7 to #4 for most trusted grocery retailer for value since 2021.
Among shoppers, H-E-B has an impressive lead in trust compared with all other grocery stores covered in the study.

Trust plays an integral role in the decision of where to shop, especially during these challenging inflationary times. There is a risk that if customers switch retailers now, they may not return even when cost of living pressures ease. "This is an important moment for retailers to build trust with shoppers, and they can do so by communicating why they are trusted and how they plan to help Americans through this," says Adam Bellisario.

The BrandSpark/Newsweek partnership aims to make shopping easier for Americans. "We are excited to partner with [Newsweek,] one of the world's most recognizable media brands, which will be promoting the full list of winners to ensure that consumers have the most reliable shopping information available to them," says Robert Levy, president of BrandSpark International. "Winners now have the opportunity of sharing their valuable wins not only with their customers but also with their teams and investors."

The winners and how they are determined

In the BrandSpark American Grocery Trust Study, 10,082 American shoppers determined the 2023 "BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards" winners, and results are ranked based on the greatest number of votes. Brand citations of "most trusted" retailer by format are determined by consumers' unaided write-in votes for their "most trusted" retailer. The brand(s) voted most trusted is/are listed as Rank #1. Any brand ranked #1–3 is considered a "Top 3 Trust Leader," any brand ranked #4–5 is considered a "Top 5 Trust Leader," and any brand ranked #6–10 is considered a "Top 10 Trust Leader," having garnered a significant trust share in the category. Brand citations as the "most trusted" overall retailer and "most trusted" by attribute are determined by consumers choosing from a list of the 66 largest grocery retailers nationally.

The 2023 "BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards" winners are listed below. See details at www.BrandSparkMostTrusted.com and contact the firm for more information on any category. *

Most Trusted Grocery Retailers by Store Format
Region	Rank #1	Rank #2	Rank #3	Rank #4	Rank #5
Conventional Grocery Store	Walmart	Kroger	Publix	Safeway	H-E-B Grocery / ShopRite (tie)
Discount Grocery Store	Aldi	Walmart	Grocery Outlet	Dollar General	Save-A-Lot
Small Format Grocery Store	Aldi	Trader Joe's	Walmart Neighborhood Market	Kroger	Save-A-Lot
Natural & Organic Grocery Store	Whole Foods Market	Trader Joe's	Sprouts Farmers Markets	Walmart	Natural Grocers
Online Grocery Service	Walmart	Amazon Fresh	Instacart	Kroger	--
Convenience Store Chain	7-Eleven	Circle K	Wawa	Casey's	QuikTrip
Dollar Store Chain	Dollar General	Dollar Tree	Family Dollar	99 Cent Only Stores	--
Pharmacy Retail Chain	CVS	Walgreens	Walmart Pharmacy	Rite Aid	Kroger
Most Trusted Conventional and Discount Grocery Retailer by Region
Format	Rank #1
Conventional Grocery Retailer (National)	Walmart
Conventional Grocery Retailer (West)	Safeway / Walmart (tie)
Conventional Grocery Retailer (South)	Walmart
Conventional Grocery Retailer (Midwest)	Kroger
Conventional Grocery Retailer (Northeast)	ShopRite
Discount Grocery Retailer (National)	Aldi
Discount Grocery Retailer (West)	Grocery Outlet
Discount Grocery Retailer (South)	Aldi / Walmart (tie)
Discount Grocery Retailer (Midwest)	Aldi
Discount Grocery Retailer (Northeast)	Aldi

Most Trusted Grocery Retailers Overall by Region (Rank #1–5)
Region	Rank #1	Rank #2	Rank #3	Rank #4	Rank #5
National	Walmart	Kroger	Aldi	Costco Wholesale	Publix
West	Walmart	Safeway	Costco Wholesale	Kroger	WinCo
South	Walmart	Kroger	Publix	H-E-B Grocery	Food Lion
Midwest	Walmart	Kroger	Aldi	Meijer	Hy-Vee
Northeast	Walmart	ShopRite	Stop & Shop	Aldi	Wegmans
Most Trusted Grocery Retailers Overall by Region (Rank #6–10)
Region	Rank #6	Rank #7	Rank #8	Rank #9	Rank #10
National	H-E-B Grocery	Sam's Club	Safeway	Trader Joe's	Meijer
West	Albertsons	Trader Joe's	Amazon Fresh	Ralph's	Fred Meyer
South	Aldi	Sam's Club	Costco Wholesale	Dollar General	Whole Foods Market
Midwest	Sam's Club	Jewel-Osco	Costco Wholesale	Target	Giant Eagle
Northeast	Giant Food Stores (PA)	Hannaford	BJ's Wholesale Club	Trader Joe's	Costco Wholesale

Most Trusted Grocery Retailers by Attribute (Rank #1–5)
Segment	Category	Rank #1	Rank #2	Rank #3	Rank #4	Rank #5
Value	Affordability	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Aldi	WinCo	Grocery Outlet
Value	Loyalty Program Rewards	Kroger	Giant Eagle	Stop & Shop	Food Lion	Jewel-Osco
Value	Valuable Circulars / Flyers	Kroger	H-E-B Grocery	ShopRite	Hy-Vee	Price Chopper
Value	Valuable Coupons	H-E-B Grocery	Meijer	Kroger	Price Chopper	Stop & Shop
Value	Great Promotions	H-E-B Grocery	Hy-Vee	ShopRite	Walmart	Kroger
Service	Easy Checkout Experience	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Kroger	Publix	Amazon Fresh
Service	Enjoyable In-Store Experience	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Publix	Kroger	Meijer
Service	Home Delivery	Amazon Fresh	Walmart	Amazon Go	H-E-B Grocery	ShopRite
Service	In-Store Health & Safety Measures	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Publix	Wegmans	Kroger
Service	In-Store Pharmacy Services	Walmart	Giant Eagle	Kroger	H-E-B Grocery	Publix
Service	Service / Friendly Staff	H-E-B Grocery	Hy-Vee	Publix	Kroger	Walmart
Service	Store Organization (layout, shopability)	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Publix	Kroger	Hy-Vee
Service	Up-to-Date / Modern Stores	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Publix	Wegmans	Amazon Fresh
Service	Curbside Pickup	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Kroger	Hy-Vee	Target
Service	In-Store Cleanliness / Tidiness	Publix	H-E-B Grocery	Wegmans	Meijer	Walmart
Fresh	Fresh Meat	H-E-B Grocery	Giant Eagle	Hy-Vee	Kroger	ShopRite
Fresh	Fresh Produce	H-E-B Grocery	ShopRite	Kroger	Publix	Hy-Vee
Fresh	Fresh Seafood	H-E-B Grocery	Publix	Wegmans	Kroger	Price Chopper
Fresh	Fresh Prepared Meals	H-E-B Grocery	Hy-Vee	Wegmans	Publix	Jewel-Osco
Fresh	Healthy Prepared Foods	H-E-B Grocery	Whole Foods Market	Hy-Vee	Wegmans	Sprouts Farmers Markets
Fresh	In-store Deli	Publix	Giant Food Stores (PA)	Hy-Vee	H-E-B Grocery	Giant Eagle
Products	Beauty Products	Walmart	Target	Meijer	H-E-B Grocery	Amazon Go
Products	Beer, Wine & Spirits	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Hy-Vee	Wegmans	Meijer
Products	Bulk Food	Costco Wholesale	Sams Club	BJs Wholesale Club	WinCo	Walmart
Products	Food for Holidays or Entertaining	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Publix	ShopRite	Kroger
Products	Gourmet Foods	Whole Foods Market	Wegmans	H-E-B Grocery	Hy-Vee	The Fresh Market
Products	Home Goods	Walmart	Target	Meijer	H-E-B Grocery	Costco Wholesale
Products	Household Care Products	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Target	Meijer	ShopRite
Products	International Food Products	Wegmans	H-E-B Grocery	Trader Joe's	Giant Food Stores (PA)	Walmart
Products	Mexican Food	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Hy-Vee	Kroger	Meijer
Products	Natural / Organic Foods	Whole Foods Market	Sprouts Farmers Markets	Trader Joe's	Wegmans	H-E-B Grocery
Products	Over-the- Counter Health Products	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Meijer	Kroger	ShopRite
Products	Packaged Food & Beverage Products	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	ShopRite	Kroger	Publix
Products	Pet Food & Treats	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Amazon Fresh	Meijer	Giant Eagle
Products	New Products	Walmart	H-E-B Grocery	Hy-Vee	ShopRite	Wegmans
Products	Store Brand / Private Label Products	H-E-B Grocery	Walmart	Kroger	Publix	ShopRite
Most Trusted Grocery Retailers by Attribute (Rank #6–10)
Segment	Category	Rank #6	Rank #7	Rank #8	Rank #9	Rank #10
Value	Affordability	ShopRite	Kroger	Amazon Fresh	Save-A-Lot	Food Lion
Value	Loyalty Program Rewards	ShopRite	Safeway	Meijer	Hy-Vee	Fred Meyer
Value	Valuable Circulars / Flyers	Meijer	Walmart	Publix	Harris Teeter	Giant Eagle
Value	Valuable Coupons	Walmart	Hy-Vee	ShopRite	BJs Wholesale Club	Von's
Value	Great Promotions	Meijer	Stop & Shop	Costco Wholesale	Food Lion	Grocery Outlet
Service	Easy Checkout Experience	Wegmans	Hy-Vee	Meijer	Stop & Shop	Safeway
Service	Enjoyable In- Store Experience	ShopRite	Costco Wholesale	Trader Joe's	Food Lion	Wegmans
Service	Home Delivery	Publix	Meijer	Kroger	Wegmans	Grocery Outlet
Service	In-Store Health & Safety Measures	Meijer	Safeway	Food Lion	ShopRite	Costco Wholesale
Service	In-Store Pharmacy Services	Meijer	Hy-Vee	Wegmans	Fred Meyer	Stop & Shop
Service	Service / Friendly Staff	Trader Joe's	Wegmans	Grocery Outlet	ShopRite	Meijer
Service	Store Organization (layout, shopability)	Meijer	Food Lion	Wegmans	ShopRite	Amazon Fresh
Service	Up-to-Date /Modern Stores	Kroger	Stop & Shop	Meijer	ShopRite	Target
Service	Curbside Pickup	Acme	Amazon Go	BJs Wholesale Club	Fred Meyer	ShopRite
Service	In-Store Cleanliness / Tidiness	Kroger	Harris Teeter	Costco Wholesale	ShopRite	Target
Fresh	Fresh Meat	Publix	Meijer	Wegmans	Stop & Shop	Costco Wholesale
Fresh	Fresh Produce	Meijer	Walmart	Wegmans	Sprouts Farmers Markets	Whole Foods Market
Fresh	Fresh Seafood	ShopRite	Giant Eagle	Giant Food Stores (PA)	Whole Foods Market	The Fresh Market
Fresh	Fresh Prepared Meals	ShopRite	Kroger	Meijer	Walmart	Costco Wholesale
Fresh	Healthy Prepared Foods	Giant Eagle	Publix	The Fresh Market	Kroger	Walmart
Fresh	In-store Deli	ShopRite	Wegmans	Kroger	Jewel-Osco	Hannaford
Products	Beauty Products	ShopRite	Fred Meyer	Amazon Fresh	Giant Eagle	Kroger
Products	Beer, Wine & Spirits	Kroger	Giant Eagle	Jewel-Osco	Costco Wholesale	Publix
Products	Bulk Food	H-E-B Grocery	Amazon Go	Amazon Fresh	Wegmans	Grocery Outlet
Products	Food for Holidays or Entertaining	Costco Wholesale	Wegmans	Food Lion	Stop & Shop	Harris Teeter
Products	Gourmet Foods	Trader Joe's	Publix	Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets	Harris Teeter	Meijer
Products	Home Goods	Amazon Go	BJs Wholesale Club	Amazon Fresh	Stop & Shop	Fred Meyer
Products	Household Care Products	Costco Wholesale	BJ's Wholesale Club	Kroger	Dollar General	Amazon Fresh
Products	International Food Products	Kroger	Hy-Vee	Publix	Meijer	Amazon Fresh
Products	Mexican Food	WinCo	Publix	Giant Eagle	Amazon Fresh	ShopRite
Products	Natural / Organic Foods	Amazon Fresh	Hy-Vee	Kroger	Publix	The Fresh Market
Products	Over-the-Counter Health Products	Target	Giant Eagle	Jewel-Osco	Harris Teeter	Costco Wholesale
Products	Packaged Food & Beverage Products	Amazon Fresh	Meijer	Costco Wholesale	Stop & Shop	Food Lion
Products	Pet Food & Treats	Kroger	Target	ShopRite	Stop & Shop	Fred Meyer
Products	New Products	Amazon Fresh	Costco Wholesale	Publix	Meijer	Grocery Outlet
Products	Store Brand / Private Label Products	Costco Wholesale	Amazon Fresh	Fred Meyer	Aldi	Jewel-Osco