• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 12, 2025

Dunnhumby has released its annual Retailer Preference Index, and the widely regarded ranking names H-E-B the No. 1 grocery. Market Basket jumps into the second spot, and Costco holds steady in third place.

The study surveys 11,000 U.S. consumers about how they navigate the $1 trillion grocery market. This year, the research finds that consumers weren’t just looking for deals. They were feeling increasingly militant about their food spending.

“Saving customers money,” including through price, promotions, and rewards, is the most important predictor for retailer success. While that has been increasingly true over the last eight years -- including the most recent period of rapid inflation -- the “savings” pillar now accounts for 38% of a retailer’s long-term success, according to the study.

WinCo Foods jumped 10 spots this year into fourth place, while Aldi rose two spots to No. 5.

Other big gainers include Trader Joe’s, moving into the seventh spot, an 8-place gain, and Lidl, which ranked 16^th, a gain of 14 places.

Amazon, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Publix and Wegman’s all lost ground.

While Amazon has been beloved by shoppers in the past, even ranking as the top retailer in 2021 and 2022, it fell out of the top three for the first time in the study’s eight-year history. It places sixth in this year's survey.

The Cincinnati-based market research company says that between COVID, supply chain upsets and a prolonged period of food inflation, American shoppers have a changed perception of the grocery environment. “Clients across the grocery retail sector understand that market success is dependent upon saving shoppers money and implementing innovative pricing technologies to maintain their customer base,” said Matt O’Grady, Dunnhumby's president of the Americas, in the release.

Dunnhumby reports that retailers with stronger customer value propositions, as demonstrated by higher scores in the index, grew up to 2.5 times faster over five years compared to those with lower rankings on price.

H-E-B distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack through better savings, quality, shopping experience and assortment.

Kroger and Albertson’s suffered ranking declines, with Dunnhumby noting steep declines in states “where there were ongoing, high-profile court cases regarding their proposed merger.”

Dunnhumby attributes that to consumers expressing less interest in digital offers and more in savings. The impact of digital, Dunnhumby’s third most important pillar, fell from 18.5% to 16% in 2024.