With the state of the economy, Americans are feeling increasingly nervous on their weekly trip to the grocery store. Shocking, we know. Still, some chains trigger less stress than others. According to the latest American Consumer Satisfaction Index survey, smaller grocers known for low prices and quirky finds are outscoring the big-box giants — even the bulk warehouses.
To find the most popular supermarket, ACSI surveyed 31,000 shoppers across the country, asking them to rate grocery stores on various categories, including convenience of store hours, helpfulness of staff, layout and cleanliness, quality and freshness of meat and produce, and speed of checkout.
America’s Most Popular Grocery Stores
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Trader Joe’s reclaimed the title of America’s favorite grocery store with a satisfaction score of 86 — beating Florida’s crown jewel, Publix, by two points after the two chains tied for first place in 2025.
Trader Joe’s — with 637 locations across 43 states — has won over American shoppers by doing things its own way: smaller footprints, affordable prices, a steady stream of offbeat finds, and famously friendly staff. The areas where it stood out most were quality and freshness of meat and produce, along with the convenience of its store locations. This year, its score rose two points to 86, up from 84 last year. While it ranked highly nationwide, its strongest showing was on the West Coast, where it scored an 87.
Right behind Publix, H-E-B landed in third place with a score of 83 — up one point from 2025 — and drew its strongest praise in the South. The Texas-based chain earned points with shoppers for its strategic pricing, along with continued investments in quality and assortment.
While Walmart-owned warehouse chain Sam’s Club lost a bit of ground — slipping one point from 83 in 2025 to 82 this year — it still managed to edge out its biggest rival, wholesale heavyweight Costco. Speaking of, Costco, tied with Aldi, saw no change in customer satisfaction this year, holding steady at a score of 81.
America’s Least Popular Grocery Stores
The real surprise shows up at the bottom of the rankings. Giant Eagle finished last in the satisfaction rankings, with its score slipping from 74 in 2025 to 73 this year. Among the lower scorers, Walmart barely moved, holding steady with a satisfaction score of 75. One of the bigger shake-ups came from Wegmans, which saw a steep drop, falling from 83 last year to 78 this year.
What Are Shoppers Saying?
People are neither surprised nor bothered by the survey, with many shoppers agreeing online that Trader Joe’s is truly one of a kind — and the best.
“Trader Joe’s takes care of 75% of my grocery budget. Not only that but shopping there is a quick in/out if I want it to be,” said one shopper.
“Not surprised. TJ’s is great for most things,” added another.
Don’t tell that to the people who think Trader Joe’s is overrated.
