Where Do Americans Buy Groceries? These Stores Top the List

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Headline after headline these days proclaims that groceries seem more expensive, while offering tips on how to save money as you browse the aisles. Reddit forums and other social media platforms abound with superfans for various grocery chains and big box retailers sharing their latest tips and thrifty finds.

All of this cultural conversation around grocery stores and prices still begs the question: Where are people really going to get their groceries? GOBankingRates conducted a survey in 2023 to find out exactly where people are loading up their carts. We also dug deeper to learn more about what motivates shoppers when they’re shopping.

Close to half of shoppers surveyed, roughly 48%, said that they were open to shopping around if it meant finding the best deals available. About 33% said that they preferred to stay in one store, but made a point of finding the best discounts within that location.

Given that many of the survey respondents listed big box chains — where they have more options in one place — as their top places to shop, the numbers of people who wanted to find everything in one haul weren’t surprising. However, you might be surprised to find that home-grown grocery stores or local chains still narrowly edged out even major players like Walmart.

Local Chain Grocery Stores

Roughly 37.81% of respondents said that they preferred local chain stores, like Kroger’s, Ralphs or Publix, to other stores.

Walmart

One of the most expansive and popular retail chains in the country, Walmart came in a narrow second place. About 36.73% of respondents said they liked to do their grocery shopping at Walmart.

Costco

Despite being known primarily for selling items in bulk, Costco still made the list of hotspots for grocery shopping, with 8.42% of respondents saying they preferred to get their groceries here.

Aldi

Unsurprisingly, Aldi came within the top five of preferred grocery chains. Highly regarded for offering discounted prices for groceries that rival any major chain in terms of quality while surpassing them in price, Aldi was the favorite store for 7.15% of respondents.

Target

Target is infamous as the store where your intention to step inside and grab “just a few quick things” soon turns into a delightful splurge. It’s also popular as a destination for groceries, with 3.04% of survey respondents stopping there first.

Safeway

Among the traditional grocery chains, Safeway got high ratings among survey respondents. The 2.55% of shoppers who said that Safeway was their preferred place to get groceries are a testament to the versatility of offerings within the store.

Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club may not have beat out other big box retailers like Costco, but it still outranks many standard grocery stores among survey respondents. About 2.15% of respondents like to do most of their grocery shopping at Sam’s Club.

Dollar Stores

You might not expect dollar stores to rank among the top places to go grocery shopping — but for the 2.15% of respondents who list them as a preferred place to shop, they’re a great place to get the essentials.

GOBankingRates surveyed 1,021 Americans aged 18 and older from across the country between Oct. 12 and Oct. 16, 2023, asking twenty-three different questions: (1) How much did you spend on your pet in the last year?; (2) How much have you spent/are you planning to spend on Halloween this year?; (3) How much money do you spend on kid-related activities in a year?; (4) How much do you spend on average on your monthly utility bills (electric, heat/gas, water)?; (5) What spending/saving habits have you had to change in the last year due to inflation/rising prices? (select all that apply); (6) What was the biggest unexpected expense you had this year?; (7) How much do you currently spend on monthly car payments?; (8) Do you live in a single-income or dual-income household?; (9) In the past year, did you have to take on a side gig because of rising prices/inflation?; (10) How much do you bring home from your side job(s) each month?; (11) How much have your overall expenses gone up in the past year?; (12) What is your top financial priorities to end 2023?; (13) What is the top way you’ve earned your money/gained wealth?; (14) Have you started financially preparing for 2024?; (15) How much have you spent on home upgrades in 2023?; (16) How will the resumption of student loan repayments affect your budget?; (17) How much do you currently owe in student loans?; (18) How much do you spend on yourself (not including housing, food, etc.) out of each paycheck?; (19) How much do you spend on online purchases per month?; (20) Where do you shop for groceries most often?; (21) Do you shop around for groceries to get better deals?; (22) What are you currently invested in? (Select all that apply); and (23) What is the current value of your stock investments?. GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.

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