The United States’ Most-Beloved Grocery Store Is *Not* the Meal-Prep Hotspot You’d Guess

For its annual survey, marketing-solutions company Market Force surveyed more than 12,800 people to create loyalty index scores. The survey asked about customer experience, satisfaction with the given chain, and whether participants would recommend said chain to a friend, among other things, Huffington Post reports.

Wegmans, a chain that is found throughout the Northeast, came out on top with a loyalty index score of 77 percent, followed by Publix (76 percent), and Trader Joe's (75 percent).

Wegmans, a store found throughout the Northeast, came out on top with a loyalty index score of 77 percent, followed by Publix (76 percent), and Trader Joe's (75 percent). Wegmans' No. 1 rank seems to come from a variety of factors including cleanliness, easy-to-find items and accessibility, and the efficiency of its speciality department service.

The survey also uncovered insightful tidbits about consumer habits: The most important thing to shoppers, getting a 62 percent vote, isn't what's in the grocery store—rather, it's the physical location. (And as someone who frequents a…simple, if you catch my drift…neighborhood grocer rather than travel a half-hour on the New York City subway to the nearest Trader Joe's, I totally get it.) The secondary priority, at 50 percent, was sales and promotions. And when it comes to the actual products and produce, 58 percent of shoppers most appreciate locally sourced meat, produce, and dairy, while 49 percent prefer organic foods when the option is available.

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