February 23, 2026
Image Courtesy of Trader Joe’s
Why Do Shoppers Prefer Trader Joe’s, Kwik Trip, and Sam’s Club Over Competitors?
In a large data array provided by the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in 2026, the retail categories of convenience stores, supermarkets, online retailers, specialty retailers, general merchandise retailers, and gas stations were examined.
The primary concern?
Which brands or companies dominated each slice of the broader retail business this year and the year prior, with several standouts being worth a mention.
According to the data:
- General merchandise retailers: This category was lead by Sam’s Club (at a score of 83), with a catch-all “all others” category tying with Kroger (scoring 82) for second place. On the third step of the podium were TJX, Costco, and Meijer, each attaining a score of 81.
- Supermarkets: Trader Joe’s enjoyed a healthy lead here, snagging a score of 86 and breaking last year’s tie with Publix. Publix did manage to hang on to second place (at 84), followed by H-E-B (83), Sam’s Club (82), and Whole Foods (81).
- Online retailers: No surprises here, or maybe just one — Amazon took the top position (82), but so did Nordstrom (82) and Chewy (82). All others got pegged at a score of 80, while Macy’s and Costco trailed just behind, each at 79.
- C-stores: Kwik Trip took command in this category, notching a score of 84. Wawa and Sheetz managed a nearly-as-respectable 82 points, followed by QuikTrip (80), Love’s (79), and Buc-ee’s (79).
Still, it appears that American grocery shoppers may be raising the bar when it comes to their standards of what constitutes proper service, particularly in grocery.
“The index is one of the longest-running consumer benchmarks in the country, and its methodology hasn’t changed significantly since launch, so year-over-year comparisons carry real meaning. American satisfaction with supermarkets dipped 1% this year to an average score of 78, and only three of the 19 chains tracked improved their scores compared with 2025,” Food & Wine writer Stephanie Gravalese noted, pivoting to add that one particular eyebrow-raising entry on the lower side — Walmart, despite its massive increase in market share as wealthier shoppers trade down — made waves in the data.
“Walmart’s score is more surprising, but it may be thanks to consumer interest in chains with a smaller, more regional feel, which Trader Joe’s delivers even on a national scale. A search through customer reviews online makes it clear why Giant Eagle fell to the bottom of the ACSI’s ratings: Shoppers widely report that the chain keeps raising prices,” Gravalese added.
BrainTrust
Nicholas Morine
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What conclusions can be drawn from the results of the ACSI rankings? What do Trader Joe’s, Kwik Trip, and Sam’s Club offer that their competitors currently lack?
Do you believe the harsher scrutiny in grocery coming from U.S. shoppers is tied to price hikes alone, or are other factors leading to increased customer standards?
Poll
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When we analyze the components of grocery loyalty in our own research, many mainstream retailers are anchored around things like convenience and price. As important as these are, they are functional rather than emotional. All of the high scoring retailers have extra attributes that resonate more deeply and create stronger attachment. Take Trader Joe’s as example. Yes, it’s great value – but it also has innovative and tasty products and is a fun place to shop. In short, the proposition is just way more satisfying.
The ACSI results reinforce a consistent truth in retail: customers reward operators that deliver a clear, differentiated value proposition and execute it consistently. Trader Joe’s, Kwik Trip, and Sam’s Club each win in different ways, but all excel at the fundamentals—value, convenience, and a distinctive experience. Trader Joe’s leans into a curated assortment and private-label innovation, Kwik Trip builds loyalty through food quality and community-driven service, and Sam’s Club combines value with technology-enabled convenience, such as frictionless checkout. The common thread is not price alone—it’s clarity of purpose and consistent execution aligned with what their customers value most.
The increased scrutiny in grocery is only partially about price. Inflation has certainly heightened sensitivity, but the data really reflect that consumers now expect more across the entire experience—product quality, in-stock reliability, speed, digital integration, and store environment. The leaders are winning because they “get the details right” on every trip, not just because they are cheaper. In contrast, retailers that allow execution gaps—whether in pricing perception, assortment, or store conditions—are being penalized more quickly than in the past.
What stands out most is that loyalty today is earned through a combination of value, differentiation, and experience—not one or the other. The retailers topping these rankings have aligned their operating models to deliver against all three, while many competitors are still trying to balance them. That gap in execution, more than any single factor, is driving the widening gap we’re seeing in customer satisfaction scores.
I hesitate to draw any conclusions from this. First, it compares apples with oranges )comparing Krogers with Sam’s Club???). More critically, customer answers to surveys of this type are socially influence so they reveal little about the retailer. Each retailer need to stay focused on the issues leading their customers to shop with them. All else is distraction.
Ater decades of watching food shows, American consumers are more than ready for new SKUs in the store. Trader Joe’s, with its private label merchandise and seasonal specialties, fits the bill. There’s always a new reason to visit.
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When we analyze the components of grocery loyalty in our own research, many mainstream retailers are anchored around things like convenience and price. As important as these are, they are functional rather than emotional. All of the high scoring retailers have extra attributes that resonate more deeply and create stronger attachment. Take Trader Joe’s as example. Yes, it’s great value – but it also has innovative and tasty products and is a fun place to shop. In short, the proposition is just way more satisfying.
The ACSI results reinforce a consistent truth in retail: customers reward operators that deliver a clear, differentiated value proposition and execute it consistently. Trader Joe’s, Kwik Trip, and Sam’s Club each win in different ways, but all excel at the fundamentals—value, convenience, and a distinctive experience. Trader Joe’s leans into a curated assortment and private-label innovation, Kwik Trip builds loyalty through food quality and community-driven service, and Sam’s Club combines value with technology-enabled convenience, such as frictionless checkout. The common thread is not price alone—it’s clarity of purpose and consistent execution aligned with what their customers value most.
The increased scrutiny in grocery is only partially about price. Inflation has certainly heightened sensitivity, but the data really reflect that consumers now expect more across the entire experience—product quality, in-stock reliability, speed, digital integration, and store environment. The leaders are winning because they “get the details right” on every trip, not just because they are cheaper. In contrast, retailers that allow execution gaps—whether in pricing perception, assortment, or store conditions—are being penalized more quickly than in the past.
What stands out most is that loyalty today is earned through a combination of value, differentiation, and experience—not one or the other. The retailers topping these rankings have aligned their operating models to deliver against all three, while many competitors are still trying to balance them. That gap in execution, more than any single factor, is driving the widening gap we’re seeing in customer satisfaction scores.
I hesitate to draw any conclusions from this. First, it compares apples with oranges )comparing Krogers with Sam’s Club???). More critically, customer answers to surveys of this type are socially influence so they reveal little about the retailer. Each retailer need to stay focused on the issues leading their customers to shop with them. All else is distraction.
Ater decades of watching food shows, American consumers are more than ready for new SKUs in the store. Trader Joe’s, with its private label merchandise and seasonal specialties, fits the bill. There’s always a new reason to visit.