Noting that the survey was geared toward grocery shopping, "[consumers] also stop in to make fill-in purchases during the week," said Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of strategy for Market Force, during a webinar yesterday to discuss the survey [image-nocss] results. Five percent pop into primarily convenience stores for those fill-in purchases, she noted, adding that 25% primarily visit mass grocers such as Walmart, and 72% primarily stop at supermarkets.
"[Consumers] don't use convenience stores or the smaller grocery stores for these trips," Eden-Harris said. "We most often go to supermarkets, and to a lesser extent the big-box groceries like Wal-Marteven for these quick trips. That says a lot for the loyalty that these command."
Wegmans was the consumer favorite in the supermarket category, and Costco ranked highest in the mass grocer category, Eden-Harris reported.
The findings emerged from a survey that Market Force conducted last month among its network of 300,000 independent mystery shoppers and merchandisers, consumers across the country dubbed "The Force." Nearly 6,000 consumers responded to a series of questions designed to shed light on which grocers are preferred in the leading grocery categories and why.
When this consumer group was asked to select its single favorite from a list of the country's 118 top grocery supermarkets, Kroger received the highest number of votes from consumers across the country. This initially placed Kroger atop the list with 11% of the votes. Publix and Safeway followed with 8% and 7% respectively.
But not all retailers are created equal. While Kroger has almost 2,500 stores in North America, Wegmanswith just 75 storeshas less than one-thirtieth that number. Yet, Wegmans scored 3% of the total votes for favorite supermarket.
Since consumers are likely to vote for retailers most familiar to them, Market Force drilled down into its results to determine which store chain would win out when the number of store locations was factored in, according to the report. This analysis moved Wegmans to the top ranking position with an adjusted 9% score, followed by ShopRite with a 5% score, and Albertsons and Whole Foods each with 4%.
Wegmans' top score was reinforced by the answers to follow-up questions that asked consumers about the characteristics they appreciated most about these leading supermarkets. The breakaway winner with the hearts and minds of consumers was Wegmans.
"From high-quality produce to courteous staff, cleanliness to inviting atmosphere, Wegmans is a standout favorite grocer with consumers," said Eden-Harris. "The fact that it can deliver all of these key performance attributes, and also rank highest on providing low prices, is an enormous accomplishment, and clearly earns the chain renowned customer loyalty."
When looking at mass grocers such as Walmart, Sam's Club, Target and Costco, Market Force found similar results. While Walmart garnered the highest number of total votes, with 42% of the total, its store count must also be factored in. When re-indexed based on the number of stores, Costco took the lead.
That lead is again substantiated based on the consumer ranking of mass grocers against the attributes they care about most. Costco scored highest on 12 of 16 attributes, and tied for first for the remaining four.
The survey was conducted in January 2010 among the Market Force network of more than 300,000 consumers. The pool of 6,000 respondents ranged in age from 19 to 72 and reflected a broad spectrum of income levels. Approximately half had incomes of more than $50,000 a year. Approximately 75% were women, the primary household consumer purchasers. Half had children at home.
Market Force, Louisville, Colo., is a global customer-intelligence-solutions company for multi-location businesses, including major retailers, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, financial institutions, entertainment studios and consumer packaged goods companies.
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