What are the cheapest chain grocery stores in the US? Here are the top 10, survey says (2024)

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What are the top grocery stores? What is The Sum?

Cortlynn Stark, The Sum

March 7, 2024 at 4:18 PM·2 min read

It’s getting more expensive to eat out, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with an increase of 5.1% over the last year.

If you’re looking to save, groceries are up just 1.2% over the last year — below the overall inflation rate which rose 3.2% in the past year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released in February.

Food price growth slowed, according to the Department of Agriculture, a result of easing wholesale food prices, supply chain issues and economy-wide inflationary pressures.

Marketforce Information, a consumer experience company, surveyed 6,555 consumers about their grocery shopping habits from November 2022 to January 2023 in its 2023 U.S. Grocery Benchmark Study.

Consumers were asked about brand preferences, their experience as a customer, brand engagement and brand awareness.

Here’s what they found:

What are the top grocery stores?

Consumers spent a majority of their grocery dollars at Walmart and Kroger, followed by ALDI and Costco Wholesale, the survey found.

For the top 20 brands, having a convenient location and good value for money were the main reasons consumers choose their primary grocery store.

ALDI topped its competition as far as price value, with 90% of the respondents saying it offers value for money.
Woodman’s Markets: 88% of respondents said it offered value for money.
WinCo Foods: 87% of respondents said it offered value for money.
Lidl: 83% of respondents said it offered value for money.
Market Basket: 81% of respondents said it offered value for money.
Grocery Outlet: 78% of respondents said it offered value for money.
Costco: 75% of respondents said it offered value for money.
Sam’s Club: 71% of respondents said it offered value for money.
BJ’s: 67% of respondents said it offered value for money.
Trader Joe’s Market: 63% of respondents said it offered value for money.

What is The Sum?

The Sum is your friendly guide to personal finance and economic news.

We’re a team of McClatchy journalists cutting through the financial jargon so you know how these issues impact your life. We verify information from diverse sources and keep the facts front-and-center, making finance and economic news add up for you.