Customer data science provider dunnhumby released its inaugural Retailer Preference Index, with Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe's and Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco coming in at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
Seattle-based Amazon came in third on the list of 59 grocery retailers in the study, which surveyed 11,000 U.S. households on their “emotional sentiment” for the retailers, and then combined the survey data with retailer financial performance to create the “preference index.”
The Top “Quartile” on the list were:
- Trader Joe's
- Costco
- Amazon
- H-E-B
- Walmart
- Wegmans
- Aldi
- Sam's Club
- Sprouts Farmers Market
- Whole Foods market
- Market Basket
- WinCo
Jose Gomez, dunnhumby's managing director for North America said this list is different than other “Top 10” rankings currently available.
“We believe there is a need (for this list) because other studies either rank retailers on financial measures or survey responses, never both,” Gomez said, in a news release. “Our model captures the complexity of customers' preferences and their actual choices by quantifying the relationship between how they perceive a retailer with their emotional connection and the financial performance.”
dunhumby's analysis finds that there are seven primary drivers of customer preference:
- Quality (assortment + store experience)
- Discounts, rewards and information
- Speed
- Prices
- Convenience
- Operations
- Digital
The full report is available for complimentary download from dunnhumby.