Frugal Shoppers Trust These 3 Grocery Store Chains Most

Shoppers looking to save money on groceries trust three retailers most: Aldi, H-E-B and Walmart.

The trio of retailers took the top honors for affordability in BrandSpark International’s fifth annual grocery edition of the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards.

BrandSpark, a marketing research firm, surveyed more than 10,000 American shoppers to find out which grocery store chains are most trusted.

Overall, Aldi gets the top ranking for trust among discount and small-format grocers, while Walmart earns first place as the most trusted conventional grocer.

BrandSpark says Walmart “faces some stiff competition” in two regions where other grocers actually earn a higher ranking. In the Northeast, ShopRite finishes first. In the Midwest, Kroger takes the top honor.

Here are the top finishers in various categories:

• Affordability: Aldi, H-E-B and Walmart
• Store brand/private label products: H-E-B, Walmart and Kroger
• Fresh produce: H-E-B, ShopRite, and Kroger
• Quality fresh food: H-E-B
• Enjoyable in-store experience: H-E-B
• Most valuable circulars: Kroger, H-E-B and ShopRite
• Curbside pickup: Walmart
• Delivery: Amazon Fresh

Building and maintaining trust is especially important for grocery retailers during inflationary times, according to BrandSpark. Retailers that fail to do so risk losing customers who might not return to the fold later when prices come back down to earth.

BrandSpark also notes that more consumers today are trying to save money by purchasing private-label items.

In a summary of the survey findings, Philip Scrutton, vice president of shopper insights at BrandSpark International, says:

“We are already seeing retailers like Walmart and Aldi performing very well nationally. Both brands not only have an extremely strong presence but offer consumers attractive private label options offering greater value than national brands, which is very attractive to consumers who will continue to see their grocery budgets being stretched.”

For more tips on cutting the cost of your food bill, check out “13 Unusual but Effective Ways to Save on Groceries.”