Wegmans is Top Supermarket, Costco is Favorite Mass Grocer

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 9, 2010 -Wegmans and Costco were selected as the No. 1 grocery retailers in a consumer survey conducted by Market Force Information Inc., a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions. Wegmans was the consumer favorite in the supermarket category, and Costco ranked highest in the mass grocer category.
 
This finding emerged from a survey that Market Force conducted last month among its network of 300,000 independent mystery shoppers and merchandisers - consumers across the country dubbed "The Force." Nearly 6,000 consumers responded to a series of questions designed to shed light on which grocers are preferred in the leading grocery categories and why. 
 

Kroger and Wegmans earn customer honors
When this consumer group was asked to select their single favorite from a list of the country's 118 top grocery supermarkets, Kroger received the highest number of votes from consumers across the country. This initially placed Kroger atop the list with 11 percent of the votes, as seen in Graph 1. Publix and Safeway followed with 8 percent and 7 percent respectively. 

                             
But not all retailers are created equal. While Kroger has almost 2,500 stores in North America, Wegmans - with just 75 stores - has less than one-thirtieth that number. Yet, Wegmans scored 3 percent of the total votes for favorite supermarket. Since consumers are likely to vote for retailers most familiar to them, Market Force drilled down into its results to determine which store chain would win out when the number of store locations was factored in. This analysis moved Wegmans to the top ranking position with a 9 percent score, followed by ShopRite with a 5 percent score, and Albertsons and Whole Foods each with 4 percent.


Wegmans' top score was reinforced by the answers to follow-on questions that asked consumers about the characteristics they appreciated most about these leading supermarkets. The breakaway winner with the hearts and minds of consumers was Wegmans.
 
"From high-quality produce to courteous staff, cleanliness to inviting atmosphere, Wegmans is a standout favorite grocer with consumers," said Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force. "The fact that it can deliver all of these key performance attributes, and also rank highest on providing low prices, is an enormous accomplishment, and clearly earns the chain renowned customer loyalty."
 
Costco leads mass grocers
When looking at mass grocers such as Walmart, Sam's Club, Target and Costco, Market Force found similar results. While Walmart garnered the highest number of total votes, with fully 42 percent of the total, its store count must also be factored in. When re-indexed based on the number of stores, Costco took the lead.
 

That lead is again substantiated based on the consumer ranking of mass grocers against the attributes they care about most. Costco scored highest on 12 of 16 attributes, and tied for first for the remaining four.
 
The survey was conducted in January 2010 among the Market Force network of more than 300,000 consumers. The pool of 6,000 respondents ranged in age from 19 - 72 and reflected a broad spectrum of income levels. Approximately half had incomes of more than $50,000 a year. Approximately 75 percent were women, the primary household consumer purchasers. Half had children at home.