Trader Joe’s has been revealed as America’s new favorite grocery store after edging out other supermarket giants.
The California-based chain toppled the titleholder, Publix, after earning a customer satisfaction score of 86 points, up two from 2025, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
ACSI’s annual poll surveys 30,000 Americans and includes 19 major companies plus the aggregate of smaller stores.
Despite its home on the West Coast, Trader Joe’s has become popular for its affordable, store-branded products, as well as for its friendly staff – usually wearing Hawaiian shirts – and fashionable tote bags.
The chain now has 600 locations in 43 states.
It comes amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis being felt across the U.S., with Americans concerned about the rising prices of everyday goods.
Publix, which has a much larger store count of over 1,400 in the southeastern U.S., was the second-highest-scoring grocery store of 2026, retaining its customer satisfaction rating of 84 from last year.
According to the data, H-E-B, which is based in Texas, is now in third position on the customer satisfaction score with 83 points, up one point from last year.
Wholesale food retailer Costco remained the same on 81 points and Target, which sells groceries as well as clothes and other items, has gone down a point to 79 percent.
Other brands, including Sam’s Club, Whole Foods and Aldi are also in the top 10 most popular grocery stores, with Aldi topping customer satisfaction leaders by region in the northeast and Midwest.
The brand with the biggest decline in satisfaction was upscale food retailer Wegman’s, which dropped from 83 points to 78.
Scott Laing, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Finance at the University at Buffalo School of Management, told WGRZ that in the current economic climate, customers “care more about value proposition.”
"They want to go further with their money than they do in traditional supermarkets,” he said. "They don't want all of these luxury experiences, they just want to get in and have an affordable experience."
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