TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Move over Publix, there’s a new favorite in town.
The latest data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) shows the Florida-based retailer, once known for iconic “hurricane cakes,” no longer sits at the top of the list for best grocer in the U.S.
The ACSI takes into account several aspects of customers’ shopping experiences.
Some of these include the speed of the checkout process, the convenience of store hours and location, the quality and freshness of meat and produce, and the general layout and cleanliness of the stores.
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The companies – 19 were considered this year – are then ranked based on their scores on those “satisfaction benchmarks.”
In 2025, Publix was at the top of the list, tying with Trader Joe’s.
This year, Trader Joe’s fanbase only appears to be growing as the Hawaiian-themed chain earned a score of 86 out of 100 — a 2% increase from last year’s rating and just enough to push it past Publix.
Publix’s score of 84 out of 100 remained unchanged compared to 2025.
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Regionally, however, Trader Joe’s was the leader in only one area: the West. This isn’t necessarily a surprise, considering California alone has more than 100 stores while Trader Joe’s is harder to come by in other regions.
In the Northeast, Aldi, ShopRite, and Walmart had the same score. Aldi came out on top in the Midwest and secured a narrow second – tied with H-E-B and Publix – in the South behind Sam’s Club.
Giant Eagle, a supermarket chain with stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Indiana, ranked last on the ACSI list, dropping another 1% from last year with a score of 73 out of 100. Other low-scorers included Hy-Vee, Walmart, and Albertsons.
Coming in third overall was Texas-based H-E-B, which earned a score of 83 out of 100, up from 82 last year. A recent report from customer data science company Dunnhumby put H-E-B at the top of its annual Retailer Preference Index for the fourth year in a row. Trader Joe’s came in at No. 7, while Publix did not appear in the top 10.
