Walmart is the clear favorite in the U.S. supermarket market, preferred by nearly one in three American shoppers, according to new findings from Conjointly Brand Tracker released April 20.
The expanded coverage of Conjointly Brand Tracker includes U.S. supermarket chains, shedding light on brand performance across the highly competitive sector.
Market at a glance
Walmart stands alone at the top in awareness at 86 percent, consideration at 69 percent, recent purchase at 70 percent and preferred brand status at 31 percent.
The retailer also turns one in three shoppers who know it into devoted fans. Kroger, Costco and ALDI follow at a distance as national brands. The real surprises are regional, with H-E-B converting 53 percent of its shoppers into committed fans, the highest of any chain.
On perception, Walmart leads the category on brand trust at 92 percent, ahead of ShopRite at 89 percent and Ralphs at 88 percent. Walmart also tops the market on assortment at 91 percent, price value at 90 percent, convenience at 86 percent, availability at 83 percent and fresh produce at 80 percent.
Initial findings
Walmart commands a dominant presence in the U.S. supermarket landscape, leading across all tracking metrics: 86 percent aided awareness, 69 percent consideration, 70 percent past-6-month purchase and 31 percent preferred brand.
It is followed by Target at 72 percent awareness and Aldi at 70 percent, reflecting a deeply established and fiercely competitive market, with multiple brands exceeding 60 percent awareness.
Aldi and Costco rank second on consideration at 41 percent and 34 percent, respectively. They also rank second on past-6-month purchase at 33 percent and 28 percent, respectively, and on preferred brand among non-Walmart chains at 8 percent each. The performance demonstrates a strong ability to convert recognition into genuine loyalty. The next similarly preferred chain is Kroger at 7 percent, with relatively lower awareness of 58 percent.
Conversion tells a story
Walmart leads all chains with a 36 percent awareness-to-preferred conversion rate, turning more than one in three people who know the brand into loyal advocates who name it their favorite supermarket.
Among other nationally recognized chains, Kroger, Costco and Aldi also achieve strong awareness-to-preferred conversion rates at 13 percent, 11 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
Some of the most interesting observations are about chains that fewer people have heard of, but those who have tend to love them. As a regional chain, WinCo Foods converts 16 percent of aware consumers to preference. H-E-B, another regional brand with similarly modest awareness of around 20 percent, converts more than half of those who try it into devoted regulars, the highest trial-to-loyalty conversion rate of any chain analyzed.
Perception and trust
Consumer perception data reveals further differentiation across the market.
Walmart scores highest on assortment at 91 percent, price value at 90 percent, convenience at 86 percent, availability at 83 percent and fresh produce at 80 percent among all tracked brands, reinforcing its positioning as the all-around leader in the supermarket category.
Aldi performs notably on price value at 81 percent and convenience at 76 percent. H-E-B performs well on price value at 80 percent and fresh produce at 78 percent. ShopRite performs well on assortment at 80 percent, availability at 76 percent and price value at 74 percent, suggesting strong perceived delivery on core functional promises for regional shoppers.
Brand trust tells a compelling story at the top of the market. Walmart leads at 92 percent, ahead of ShopRite at 89 percent and Ralphs at 88 percent, all well above the category average.
Scale is not the only path
Nik Samoylov, founder of Conjointly, said the data makes clear that market leadership can take more than one form.
“In the U.S. supermarket market, strong national leaders coexist with a long tail of regional players,” Samoylov said.
“Walmart is the clear leader on awareness, but the data shows that scale is not the only way to win loyalty. H-E-B and WinCo Foods prove that a sharp focus on value, trust, and quality can generate disproportionate brand equity even from a much smaller awareness base.”
Methodology and access
The findings are based on a syndicated study of 1,427 U.S. adult consumers, with 1,089 qualifying respondents confirming that they had purchased groceries or items from a supermarket chain in the past 30 days.
Participants were recruited through Conjointly’s panel network and compensated for their time, with the sample weighted to national demographics to ensure findings are market-representative.
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