A survey conducted by customer intelligence firm Market Force has crowned Trader Joe’s as its top grocery store in the country.
While Trader Joe’s may be known as a specialty market, it has a devoted following of customer and performed near the top in the survey’s customer satisfaction areas which included cleanliness, accurate pricing, courteous staff, atmosphere, and fast check-out. While most chains performed well in a couple of areas, Trader Joe’s performed extremely well in all of them. The Monrovia, CA based company aims for a small, community feel, as opposed to the massive layouts of other stores.
Other stores that performed well include Publix, Hy-Vee, and Whole Foods, which challenged Joe’s for the title. Large chains like Wal-Mart and Target ranked highly as a one-stop-shopping choices, but Wal-Mart ranked the lowest in customer satisfaction.
The study sheds light on what consumers are now looking for in a supermarket; cleanliness, friendliness, and a no-nonsense approach that includes more of a feeling of home. While the traditional giants like Wal-Mart keep churning out high profits, customers are beginning to tire of their sheer size and lack of a personal touch. Trader Joe’s presents a nice middle ground for those looking for a more intimate store while still wanting a wide selection. However, the survey is far from conclusive since the sample size only consisted of 6,600 consumers.