U.S. consumers more focused on grocery savings as essential costs rise

CINCINNATI: H-E-B, Market Basket and Woodman’s are the top three U.S. grocery retailers according to dunnhumby’s ninth annual Retailer Preference Index (RPI) for U.S. Grocery, a comprehensive, nationwide study that examines the approximately $1 trillion U.S. grocery market. The Texas-based regional grocer has ranked first for the fifth time in nine years. Market Basket ranked second for the second time, while Wisconsin-based Woodman’s, appearing in the RPI for the first time, replaced Costco as the third top U.S. grocer. For the first time, the leading three retailers in the United States are all regional chains. Costco (4), Aldi (5), Winco Foods (6), Trader Joes (7), Amazon (8), Wegman’s (9), and ShopRite (10) round out the 10 highest ranked grocers.

The RPI found that 41% of a retailer's long-term success is based on "saving customers money" through competitive pricing, promotions, and rewards - up three points from last year and marking a new record high. This remains the most important of the five customer perception pillars. Retailers who excel at delivering savings consistently achieve stronger, long-term market success in the United States.

"2025 threw a lot of curveballs at the U.S. consumer. Shopper confidence dropped as concerns about higher prices, fewer job opportunities, and stagnant wages eroded purchasing power. Consumers across all income levels are feeling the squeeze and making more price-conscious choices," said Matt O'Grady, President of the Americas for dunnhumby. “In this environment, building trust with American shoppers has never been more critical.”

The dunnhumby RPI is the only approach to ranking grocers that combines financial results with customer perception. It includes the largest 81 retailers in the industry that sell everyday food and non-food household items. The financial data used in the dunnhumby model comes from Flywheel, and the customer perception data is sourced from dunnhumby’s annual survey of more than 11,000 American grocery shoppers. The five drivers of the customer value proposition are in order: 1) Price, Promotions, and Rewards, 2) Quality, 3) Digital, 4) Operations, and 5) Speed and Convenience.

Key findings from the study:

• U.S. consumers prioritize "saving money" on groceries more than their peers in other developed countries, according to a global dunnhumby RPI analysis, due to higher insecurity rates of basic human needs (Global Social Progress Imperative Study). According to dunnhumby’s Consumer Trends Tracker, 56% of Americans cannot cover a $400 emergency, a metric that has worsened since December 2024. Meanwhile, 58 million Americans-more than the entire population of Canada-experience food insecurity and occasionally skip meals due to affordability issues.
• Quality and value are converging in retail. Savings-focused retailers like Walmart and Aldi are driving this shift, narrowing quality perception gaps with traditional competitors while expanding their price advantage. As a result, quality has emerged as a key competitive differentiator alongside affordability.
• Retailers in the first quartile have consistently outperformed competitors. These top retailers have grown grocery revenue the most over the past year, delivered the strongest growth over the past five years, and built a sustained market share advantage over the long term.
• The battle for second place is wide open, with any of the retailers ranked second through eighth having a realistic chance. For now, H-E-B remains firmly entrenched as the top retailer due to its superior ability to deliver a combination of better savings, quality, experience, and assortment.
• Woodman’s captured third place in the rankings in its first year in the RPI. The retailer was able to leapfrog the competition through strong results in the top two most important pillars - price, promotions, and rewards (pillar 1) and quality (pillar 2) as well as finishing second overall in operations (pillar 4).
• Amazon, the leading U.S. grocer in 2021 and 2022, dropped two spots, while Sam's Club fell six places. Their rankings declined mainly because the digital pillar became less important in 2025, which had been a key strength for both retailers. In addition, neither Amazon nor Sam’s Club ranks in the first quartile for price, promotions, rewards (pillar 1), or quality (pillar 2).

The RPI is available for download today. Retailers featured in the RPI who wish to receive their specific banner profiles can speak with their dunnhumby account executive or reach out to dunnhumby at: https://www.dunnhumby.com/us-retailer-preference-index-reports/. dunnhumby will also be attending and exhibiting at NRF 2026 in booth #4665 and will be speaking about the RPI alongside METRO Inc., Giant Food, and Placer.ai on Monday, January 12th from 1:30-2:00pm. Learn more about their session, Growing Market Share in a Disrupted Retail Landscape here.

About dunnhumby

dunnhumby helps businesses grow through faster, better decision-making, as the essential intelligence layer connecting the world’s leading retailers and brands.

Sitting at the intersection of loyalty, media, and category management, dunnhumby helps to navigate complex and competing priorities. Combining AI-enabled science, software, trusted advice, and 35+ years of dedicated retail experience, dunnhumby is recognized as a leader in connecting customer insight and action to build loyalty, drive performance, and deliver results that last.

With offices in locations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, dunnhumby works with brands including Tesco, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Procter & Gamble, and L’Oreal, to make smarter decisions today and tomorrow.

Fonte: Business Wire