There's no accounting for taste, so the saying goes. Costco vs. Sam's Club. Walmart vs. Target. Odds are you're in one camp or the other.
When it comes to choosing a grocery store, people have particularly strong opinions. And now we have the receipts to prove it.
App maker Solitaired recently analyzed seven million Google Reviews, offering insights into customer satisfaction ratings for various grocery stores.
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Solitaired examined the top 30 grocery chains in the U.S. across 3,000 store locations in the country’s 100 most populated cities. The company focused on Google reviews with three stars or fewer, isolating common frustrations related to price, selection, wait times, and staffing.
What the analysis revealed just might change where you shop next.
Walmart has some work to do to win over shoppers
Trader Joe's continues to capture shopper loyalty. Of the 188 locations analyzed, the budget-friendly chain known for its unique snacks, customer service, seasonal specialty items (and of course those viral mini totes) earned an average Google-review rating of 4.65 out of 5 stars, giving it the overall crown.
Even though Trader Joe's is committed to its low-tech ways, and shows no signs of planning to improve its notoriously terrible parking lots, it was the only national chain to break into the top of list.
“We found that Trader Joe's was the only chain to rank highly for best grocery stores alongside small business grocery stores,” Solitaired Co-Founder Neal Taparia told TheStreet exclusively. “Their emphasis on customer service, good value, and curation of great products creates a compelling experience for shoppers.”
In fact, Trader Joe's may be the only chain that feels more like a small-grocer experience, Taparia said. “From our data and analysis, with Trader Joe's, you really get the best of a chain store with the best of a mom-and-pop grocery store.”
Related: Trader Joe's making huge mistake not copying Walmart, Target
The Solitaired analysis also identified the grocery stores with the lowest customer ratings. King Soopers, owned by Kroger, came in last place with an average of just 3.84 stars. The Colorado- and Wyoming-based chain was criticized for long lines, poor service, and inconsistent product quality.
Walmart, despite its massive footprint of over 4,000 U.S. stores, fared only slightly better with a 3.95-star average across 525 locations analyzed. Reviewers frequently cited high prices, unhelpful staff, and chaotic store layouts as top complaints.
Even more damning, Walmart makes up 44% of the worst 50 stores in America.
“If I were Walmart, I would take a ‘less is more' approach,” said Taparia. “How can you make shopping simple with fewer but better products, all priced at a great value?”
Publix, Winco also score high marks
In a close contest with Trader Joe's, Publix, a Florida-based regional supermarket, came in second for high marks, with a 4.5-star average. Next in line was WinCo, an employee-owned chain with 142 locations across the U.S., earning 4.47 stars.
These findings closely mirror the 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey, which also placed Trader Joe’s and Publix at the top of its rankings, based on feedback from over 41,000 shoppers.
Related: Trader Joe's shares new locations coming soon
A few other key findings from the analysis:
- Trader Joe’s made up 66% of the 50 best-rated grocery stores in the U.S.
- Walmart ranks as the second-worst grocery chain, despite its ubiquity.
- New York City had the most entries in the bottom 50 stores for both quality and pricing; Jersey City also had low marks.
- Florida is home to two of the nation’s highest-rated grocery stores.
And in a shout-out to the grocery scene in Florida, it turns out it's a grocery-shopping paradise and home to two of the country’s most-loved markets. The highest-rated individual grocery stores were the local spots Mazzaro’s Italian Market in St. Petersburg and Freshfields Farm in Orlando; both received a near perfect 4.8 star rating. Third-place honors went to Glorioso’s Italian Market in Milwaukee and Choi's Asian Food Market in Louisville, Kentucky.
As for the worst grocery store, that title goes to the Safeway on 40th St. in Washington, D.C.
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