After Kroger employees revealed pricing errors to the union, Consumer Reports decided to investigate. They recently made a series of undercover visits to 26 Kroger locations across more than a dozen states. The study uncovered widespread price discrepancies, which led to overcharging by a few cents to a few dollars. This discrepancy was found at 17 out of 26 stores.
A story like the above isn’t surprising. Few industries have suffered greater public fallout in recent years than retail grocers. A 2024 Gallup survey found that, for the first time in at least a quarter century, the grocery industry was distrusted by the bulk of the U.S. population. Between 2023 and 2024, the share of Americans with overly negative views of the grocery industry surged from 30% to 47%, while the share of the population with positive views fell from 41% to 33%. For context, the industry’s average rating since 2001 has been 52% positive and only 21% negative.
24/7 Wall St. Key Points:
- Amid soaring prices and revelations of price gouging, America’s grocery retail industry has taken a public relations hit in recent years.
- Still, a recent survey shows that many supermarket chains have been able to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, despite broader industry trends.
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Industry analysts identified surging prices in the wake of the pandemic as a leading cause of the widespread discontent. Even as overall inflation hit a multi-decade high of 8.5% in mid-2022, the consumer price index for food at home spiked even higher, topping out at 13.5% in August 2022. Even though year-over-year changes in grocery prices have since returned to normal levels, Americans are still feeling the effects in the checkout aisle.
While the surging price of groceries alone may have fueled negative consumer sentiment, the role that specific supermarkets played in the industry’s above-average rate of inflation certainly did not help. Even though supply chain disruptions were partially to blame, a report from the Federal Trade Commission revealed that companies within the industry used these macroeconomic conditions to pad their own bottom lines. (Here is a look at four things you can do to defend against inflation.)
Many of the largest grocery retail chains in the country reported surging profits in recent years, raising suspicions of deliberate price gouging. These suspicions were recently confirmed, as a senior executive at Kroger, one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S., testified that the company had indeed raised prices higher than the rate of inflation.
While the grocery industry at large has lost considerable trust with the general public in recent years, Americans still appear to have relatively high opinions of their own local supermarket — at least from a customer satisfaction standpoint.
Using data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, 24/7 Wall St. identified the best and worst grocery stores in the United States. We ranked 19 major supermarket brands with available data on their average customer satisfaction score in 2024 and 2025 — from those with the lowest scores to those with the highest.
The supermarket industry as a whole had an average customer satisfaction index score of 79 out of 100 in 2024 in 2025. Among the 19 brands on this list, average scores range from 74.5 to 84.5. For each company on this list, customer satisfaction index scores are based on a range of benchmarks. These include quality and variety of merchandise, frequency of sales, store cleanliness and layout, and speed of checkout process. Some grocers are excelling in these key areas, while others are not. (Here is a look at how Trump administration policies may impact food prices.)
This post was updated on June 1, 2025 to include a recent investigation into Kroger’s pricing errors.
Why It Matters
Public trust in America’s grocery industry has eroded at a historic pace in recent years. Experts attribute the trend to the surging cost of groceries both during and after the pandemic, as well as certain companies’ culpability in higher prices through price gouging. New data from the ASCI, however, shows that for many of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, customer satisfaction is on the rise.
These are the best and worst grocery stores chains in the United States:
19. Walmart
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 74.5 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 75 in 2025, 74 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Walmart Inc.
- Corporate headquarters: Bentonville, AR
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $648.1 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $27.0 billion
- Stock ticker: NYSE: WMT
17. Giant Eagle
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 75.0 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 74 in 2025, 76 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Giant Eagle
- Corporate headquarters: Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
17. Save A Lot
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 75.0 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 75 in 2025, 75 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Save A Lot
- Corporate headquarters: St. Ann, MO
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
16. Albertsons Companies
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 77.0 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 76 in 2025, 78 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Albertsons Companies, Inc.
- Corporate headquarters: Boise, ID
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $79.2 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $2.1 billion
- Stock ticker: NYSE: ACI
14. Ahold Delhaize
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 77.5 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 78 in 2025, 77 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Ahold Delhaize
- Corporate headquarters: Zaandam, Netherlands
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $89.4 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $2.4 billion
- Stock ticker: OTCQX: ADRNNY
14. Kroger
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 77.5 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 78 in 2025, 77 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: The Kroger Co.
- Corporate headquarters: Cincinnati, OH
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $150.0 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $3.1 billion
- Stock ticker: NYSE: KR
13. Hy-Vee
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 78.0 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 78 in 2025, 78 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Hy-Vee
- Corporate headquarters: West Des Moines, IA
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
11. BJ’s Wholesale Club
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 79.5 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 77 in 2025, 82 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings
- Corporate headquarters: Marlborough, MA
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $20.0 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $820.0 million
- Stock ticker: NYSE: BJ
11. Meijer
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 79.5 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 79 in 2025, 80 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Meijer
- Corporate headquarters: Walker, MI
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
10. ShopRite
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 80.0 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 80 in 2025, 80 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: ShopRite
- Corporate headquarters: Edison, NJ
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
8. Target
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 81.0 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 80 in 2025, 82 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Target Corporation
- Corporate headquarters: Minneapolis, MN
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $107.4 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $5.7 billion
- Stock ticker: NYSE: TGT
8. Aldi
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 81.0 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 81 in 2025, 81 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Aldi
- Corporate headquarters: Batavia, IL
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
7. Whole Foods
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 82.0 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 82 in 2025, 82 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Amazon.com, Inc.
- Corporate headquarters: Seattle, WA
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $638.0 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $68.6 billion
- Stock ticker: Nasdaq: AMZN
6. Wegmans
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 82.5 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 83 in 2025, 82 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Wegmans
- Corporate headquarters: Rochester, NY
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
4. Costco
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 83.0 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 81 in 2025, 85 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Costco Wholesale Corporation
- Corporate headquarters: Issaquah, WA
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $254.5 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $9.3 billion
- Stock ticker: Nasdaq: COST
4. Sam’s Club
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 83.0 out of 100 (tied)
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 83 in 2025, 83 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Walmart Inc.
- Corporate headquarters: Bentonville, AR
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: $648.1 billion
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: $27.0 billion
- Stock ticker: NYSE: WMT
3. H-E-B
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 83.5 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 82 in 2025, 85 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: H-E-B
- Corporate headquarters: San Antonio, TX
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
2. Trader Joe’s
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 84.0 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 84 in 2025, 84 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Trader Joe’s
- Corporate headquarters: Monrovia, CA
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
1. Publix
- 2-year average annual customer satisfaction index score: 84.5 out of 100
- Customer satisfaction index score by year: 84 in 2025, 85 in 2024
- Brand’s parent company: Publix
- Corporate headquarters: Lakeland, FL
- Corporate revenue in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Corporate operating profit in most recent available fiscal year: N/A
- Stock ticker: Not publicly traded
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