Aldi seen by consumers as grocery price leader: study

Among 10 grocers, discount grocer Aldi is the low-price grocery leader, according to a new consumer study by Market Force Information, a customer intelligence solutions company.

The study, conducted in March with 6,100 participants across the U.S., looked at why consumers choose one grocer over another and what the customer experience is like for grocery shoppers.

The 10 grocers capturing the most of the consumer dollars were: Aldi, Costco, Giant Foods, H-E-B, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Safeway, ShopRite and Wal-Mart.

Consumers were then asked to rank the top 10 top retailers on attributes such as low pricing, cleanliness, service, food quality, location and the checkout process. Aldi was viewed as the affordable price leader, followed by Wal-Mart and Costco.

While Wal-Mart ranked highest among respondents in offering a one-stop retailer for all their needs, Publix scored highest in offering an inviting atmosphere and environmental-friendly policies.

Some categories studied showed very little differentiation across the board, including convenient location, good private-label brands and variety of merchandise.

The study also revealed that location is the main reason consumers shop where they do, but it wasn’t the only driving factor.

Sixty-seven per cent of consumers indicated that their grocer choice is primarily driven by its convenient location; followed by price (57%); good sales and promotions (52%); and availability of good private-label products (38%).

When it came to food trends, high-quality produce was found to be more important to shoppers than high-quality meat. Sustainability wasn’t that important to consumers; a mere 5% were shown to prefer their primary grocer for its sustainable environment and green policies.

Overall consumers were pleased with their grocery experience, according to the study, with 90% indicating they were somewhat or very satisfied. For the 10% of consumers who were not pleased, long wait times, followed by not being able to find a desired product were the reasons for discontent.