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These are America’s favorite supermarkets

More and more consumers might be having groceries delivered curbside—or even right to their door—but that doesn’t mean we still don’t have strong preferences on where we shop. A new report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, used data from more than 85,000 customers who compiled scores for different stores, ranking everything from cleanliness to product selection, store layout and more. So which stores came out on top? H-E-B, a privately owned supermarket chain based in Texas took top slot. Trader Joes, and Legman’s tied for second place.  ALDI, Costco, and Publix all received the same rating to tie for third. Also see, how to avoid being rude at the grocery store. The bottom of the list? Albertsons and Sav-A-Lot landed at the bottom—just above Walmart. Here is the full list of Customer Satisfaction Index scores for U.S. supermarkets: H-E-B — 84 Trader Joe’s — 84 Wegmans — 84 Aldi…

8 ways you might be seen as rude at the grocery store

We’ve all witnessed some pretty bad behavior at the grocery store. You know — the guy who grabs a quick snack from the salad bar or the woman who leaves her cart in the middle of aisle. It doesn’t matter what store you shop at or what time of the day you go, running into rude people is inevitable. But anytime you step into public you’re at risk for your own little social blunder, as well. Whether you realize it or not, if you do any of these things, you will be seen as rude by others: sneaky Snacking Everyone know that grocery shopping hungry is never a good idea. Shopping on an empty stomach means you’re more likely to buy highly-processed, fatty food items to your cart. But it also means you might be tempted to sneak a snack. When you “sample” items from the bulk bins or salad…

Survey finds what makes the best grocery stores and supermarkets

Having access to quality grocery stores can make or break your relationship with food. A good grocery store sends customers home satisfied with reasonably priced bags full of fresh, tasty food, while the bad ones can leave shoppers frustrated for any number of reasons. For as much as grocery chains seems to have in common on the surface, experienced shoppers know they can be wildly different. So what do the best grocery stores have in common? Is it food selection? Customer service? Good product organization? A survey of more than 75,000 Consumer Reports members ranked grocery stores on these and a number of other categories to determine what makes the best grocery store. The survey’s findings pit 96 different national and regional grocery chains against each other to determine the very best grocery stores in America — and what makes them so great. So what’s the one thing most of…

18 tips on how to eat healthy and still save money at the grocery store

The average American house hold spends $6,600 on groceries every year — that’s $550 a month!. Are you doing all you can to make sure you’re getting the healthiest foods for your dollar? It can cost a lot to eat whole, healthy foods. In fact, the Harvard School of Public Health found that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can cost about $2,000 more per year. But the real question is can you afford not to? With heart disease, cancer, and diabetes all on the rise, spending the cash now on fresh foods could save you big bucks on medical bills throughout your lifetime. This increased food expense is all the more reason to identify ways to make your money stretch. The most obvious area for savings is to eliminate food waste. Americans throw out $640 worth of groceries every year. Reduce this waste, and you’ve recouped a…

This is why bread comes wrapped in brown paper bags

Grocery stores have a lot of tricks up their sleeve to persuade you to part with your hard-earned cash. From the local farmers market look of the fruit baskets to the “wet look” of the lettuce, there’s a lot of psychology behind a supermarket’s decisions. But while making things look appetizing is the grocer’s goal, there is one product decision that has nothing to do with convincing you of freshness. It’s the bakery section bread, and it’s wrapped in brown paper bags for a reason. You might have thought that the paper was to make it look like a fancy French bakery (or even to make it go stale faster if you’re a bit cynical), but believe it or not, the brown paper bags actually help keep the bread fresher longer. The open paper bag allows room temperature air to circulate, keeping the bread crusty — in a good way —…

Survey finds America’s favorite grocery store

Where you choose to grocery shop is pretty much a regional decision, but there is also a lot of personal preference involved. You may prefer one chain over another because of layout or prices, item availability or bakery goods. All of these factors were considered when participants took a recent survey on their favorite grocery store in America. And the winner? Wegman’s. The East Coast chain comes out on top in the Market Force Information poll which asked more than 12,000 their likes and dislikes. The New York-based Wegman’s has just 97 locations, but it managed to come out on top. Florida-based Publix came in second, and Trader Joe’s in third. Aldi and San Antonio-based H-E-B rounded out the top five. This is the third consecutive year Wegman’s has won the honor. It ranked high for specialty department service, store cleanliness and item availability. Publix polled top of the list for…

This is the best day to grocery shop, according to research

If your routine includes grocery shopping on the weekend, it might be time to reconsider. According to new research compiled by Colorado-based mobile technology company Ibotta, buying groceries on Saturday and Sunday could end up costing you more. While it might be convenient to hit the aisles on your day off, making the chore a weekday endeavor might result in a small savings. According to Today, it’s not as simple as going on Tuesday or Wednesday, but rather a tricky dance depending on what you’re going of. Ibotta’s research showed that going for wine on Tuesday is the least expensive day (4 percent cheaper), bread costs the least on Wednesday (2 percent less), and you should go Thursdays for beer (1 percent cheaper). For snacks, go Thursday (1 percent cheaper), and Fridays are the best time for ice cream (1 percent cheaper). While those numbers aren’t likely to save you hundreds of dollars…

Strawberries top list of produce with most pesticides, avocados have the least

If you pass on the organic produce in order to save a few bucks, perhaps you should at least consider the organic strawberries, new research suggests. For the third year in a row, strawberries rank the worst on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of fruits and vegetables. The annual list looks at which of our grocery store produce is harboring the highest number of harmful pesticide residues. This year, more than 98 percent of samples of fruits like strawberries, peaches, cherries and apples tested positive for at least one pesticide residue on the skin. About a third of all strawberry samples had at least 10 pesticides present, the study reported. One sample had an “astounding” 22 pesticide residues. Behind strawberries on the Dirty Dozen list landed spinach. About 97 percent of spinach samples showed pesticide residues were present. Nectarines, apples and grapes rounded out the top five. The report is based…

Women No Longer Primary Grocery Store Shoppers

Tradition still leads us to believe women do more grocery shopping than men. But according to a recent study, the genders are now pretty much equal. The Grocery Shopper Impact MegaStudy conducted by VideoMining, a State College, Pennsylvania-based provider of store behavioral analytics, found that women account for 51 percent of in-store grocery shoppers and men 49 percent. Equal on-site presence has not meant equal spending power, however. On average, female grocery shoppers spend $2.73 more per trip. The study also found that shoppers of both genders are avoiding the center of the store in favor of shopping the perimeter — traditionally where the healthier items such as fruits, vegetables and dairy items are shelved. One in five shoppers avoid the center of the store altogether. Shoppers are also trading in their weekly packed carts for smaller, more frequent visits. About 68 percent of grocery store check-out carts include 10…