New survey says Wal-Mart lags the grocery pack

Wal-Mart sells a lot of groceries but it’s not the most popular grocery destination in the U.S., despite its more than 4,000 stores, low prices and convenient locations, according to a recent study by Market Force.

Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Publix and Aldi were preferred grocer destinations, according to the May study which asked consumers to rate their satisfaction and the most recent store experience. The Delight Index measures the survey results using overall shopper satisfaction and a consumer’s willingness to recommend a store to friends and family. 

Trader Joe’s Market, which operates 400 stores across the U.S., received the highest marks among those surveyed, with a 90% approval. Whole Foods Market, Publix and Aldi also scored high in the 80% range. Wal-Mart scored the lowest ranking among those surveyed at roughly 35%, while Sam’s Club fared better at 65%.

Analysts have said Wal-Mart is not seen as  a “cool” company by mainstream consumers, like a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, but Wal-Mart does draw more than 138 million customers to its U.S. stores each week.

Other research indicates 69% of those familiar with Wal-Mart have a favorable opinion.

Not all grocers mentioned in this survey are located throughout the U.S. so the study broke down the results by region.

Market Force asked consumers where they had spent the majority of their grocery money in the previous 30 days. Across the South, Kroger ranked first with 16%, followed closely by Publix with 15% and H-E-B in a distant third with 5%. In the Midwest, Kroger again led the pack 11%. Meijer ranked second with 9% and Hy-Vee took the third spot with 8%.

In the West region, Safeway led by a wide margin with 12%, Kroger earned 9% and Costco received 7%. Respondents in the Northwest region preferred Stop & Shop which garnered 11% of the votes, GIANT came in second with 6% and Wegmans and Market Basket tied for third with 5%.

Again, Wal-Mart did not make the top three in any of regions, according to the survey.

KEY ATTRIBUTES
The survey allowed respondents to rank grocers on several key attributes, the top five metrics are show below with the retailer rankings. 

Wal-Mart wasn’t listed in the top 5 for convenient locations, and ranked third in low prices behind Aldi and Winco Foods. Wal-Mart did rank highest in one-stop shopping metric, tying with Target at 67%.

“With most consumers satisfied with their grocery-shopping experiences, it makes for a very competitive playing field for grocers looking to distinguish themselves from the masses,” said Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force. “We start to see the greatest opportunities for differentiation in operations-related attributes such as fast check-outs, gracious staff and atmosphere.”   

Market Force notes that competitive differentiation begins to emerge when viewing operational excellence attributes. In these areas, the survey found that higher-satisfaction brands tend to outscore other grocery brands. 
 
Trader Joe’s and Publix performed well in the operational excellence attributes, with Trader Joe’s ranking first for its atmosphere and quick checkout process, and second in the other three categories.

Publix was tops among shoppers for its cleanliness and courteous staff, and second to Trader Joe’s in atmosphere. Hy-Vee and H-E-B also fared consistently well in key categories.

Wal-Mart was not among the top five retailers in any of these operational metrics, according to the survey. The Bentonville-based retailer continues to work on store efficiencies from in-stock concerns to speedier check-outs with the Scan & Go mobile application that allows shopper to not only reduce their wait time inline but also budget their shopping trip as they shop.

PRODUCT QUALITY
In the product quality metric of the survey, Whole Foods took the top spot in meat, produce and organic options. The popular retailer also led the pack in nutritional information and in its sustainable/ green practices.

Wal-Mart was not among the top five grocers in any of those metrics, though the retailer has addressed it’s steak quality, fresh produce and healthier food options with the “Good For You” labeling initiative. The retailer is also working toward a greener footprint, but those efforts don’t seem to have swayed grocery shoppers in the recent survey.

Sam’s Club did make the top five grocers for high meat quality, ranking three spots behind Costco, who also cracked the top five for high quality produce.

Publix was the only other grocer beside Whole Foods make the top 5 list in the product quality, health and sustainability metrics of the survey.

Wal-Mart competes head-to-head with many of the grocers in the survey and continues to report it is gaining grocery market share particularly with its Neighborhood Market expansion efforts.

The survey perception is that there are also plenty of other grocers holding their own.