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H-E-B tops dunnhumby grocery retailer ranking

Photo: Moab Republic - stock.adobe.com

February 5, 2025

H-E-B has been ranked at the top U.S. grocer, according to the dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index, a study that examines the $1 trillion dollar U.S. grocery market.

The study includes a survey of 11,000 consumers and revealed that 'saving customers money,' whether through promotion, rewards or price, is the most important predictor for long-term market success, according to a press release.

A big factor driving that is a new price-conscious consumer mindset as customers are paying closer attention to grocery prices.

H-E-B has now been named the top grocery retailer for the fourth time in the index's eight year. Second place went ot Market Basket, Costco took third, WinCo Foods ranked fourth and Aldi landed in fifth place.

"Since releasing the first U.S. Grocery RPI eight years ago, retailers and shoppers have weathered Covid, supply chain disruptions, agricultural shortages due to climate impacts, and a prolonged period of high food inflation that have reshaped shopping behavior and how Americans perceive the grocery retail environment," Matt O'Grady, dunnhumby president of the Americas, said in the release. "Clients across the grocery retail sector understand that market success is dependent upon saving shoppers money and implementing innovative pricing technologies to maintain their customer base."

Additional findings include:

• Amazon, the top U.S. Grocery Retailer in 2021 and 2022, fell out of the top three for the first time in eight years, landing in the sixth spot.
• Lidl ascended 14 spots to move up to the top quartile for the first time, taking the 17th position. Lidl saw modest improvements in a few areas: prices, digital, and operations.