AUSTIN (KXAN) — H-E-B, the Texas-based (and Texas-only) chain, has once again been named one of the top national grocery retailers. It came in at No. 2 overall, as Amazon usurped its spot from last year on National data science firm dunhumby’s 2021 Retailer Preference Index.
This is the fifth annual report the company has released “based on insights from 10,000 U.S. shoppers about what matters to them most when shopping at 60-plus retailers,” according to its website.
H-E-B has made the list multiple years in a row, and came in at #1 in 2020. That led the company to give $100 to each of its partners. At the time, it had more than 100,000 employees, many of whom took to social media to share what made them #HEBProud.
Here’s the list of the top 10 retailers:
- Amazon
- H-E-B
- Market Basket
- Wegmans
- Amazon Fresh
- Aldi
- Trader Joe’s
- Sam’s Club
- Costco
- Walmart Neighborhood Market
Eight of the top ten are available options in the Austin area.
The report noted H-E-B continued “to display its strategic superiority over the competition by holding its ground on its traditionally strong balance of great Price perception and great Quality perception, driven by its best-in-class private brand, while also making some of its biggest improvements during Covid in Digital.”
One thing the report noted that has started to shift in the industry as a whole is that while “Price” and “Quality” (which considers both product and store experience) are still the top of the list for consumers, they’re less important than they were in its analyses prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Price and Quality are no longer head and shoulders above all other Customer Preference Drivers in securing superior, long-term sales growth and emotional connection with shoppers. Price now sits alone at the top. Digital sits even with Quality for the first time and is near Price in its weight in driving retailer success,” the report said.
It also showed that retailers that made efforts to improve their “Speed” and “Digital” offerings showed a great amount of growth, but also found that half of those who shop for groceries in the United States don’t plan to ever buy online.
