Supermarket shoppers expect low prices, great selection and a speedy checkout. These days, they also want fresh: high-quality fruits and vegetables, as well as store-made meals.
That's why Consumer Reports focused on "fresh" for this year's annual supermarket survey. The results released on Thursday, show that the nation's food retailers have a lot of work to do when it comes to delivering what their customers want and expect.
"A lot of stores are really average or sub-par when it comes to the quality of their produce and fresh offerings," said Consumer Reports senior project editor Tod Marks. "Only a handful stuck out in terms of the overall perception of excellence."
- Six in 10 shoppers were completely or very satisfied with the quality of their store's produce, meat and poultry
- About 50 percent were highly satisfied with their store's prepared food and bakery items
- Only three of the 68 chains earned top marks for produce quality: Wegmans, The Fresh Market and Whole Foods
- Standouts for prepared foods: Wegmans, Publix, Costco, Whole Foods and The Fresh Market
The magazine's ratings are based on responses from nearly 63,000 subscribers who rated 68 chains on the quality of their produce, meat/poultry, bakery and store-prepared food, plus store cleanliness and employeecourtesy. Some key findings:
Again this year: Wegmans (with 85 stores on the East coast) blew away the competition scoring 90 out of 100 and Wal-Mart remained at the bottom of the list at 64.
"Wegmans does everything right," Marks told TODAY. "If you're looking for perfection in a supermarket, Wegmans comes closest. They have exemplary service, very good prices, tremendous store brands and out-of-this-world perishables and they know how to treat their customers."
Wal-Mart received below average marks in every category and it was one of only five stores that received below average ratings for cleanliness.
"They've got a lot of room for improvement and it's something that the chain's own shoppers have been telling us for years," Marks said.
NBC News contacted Wal-Mart to see if the company wanted to comment on the poor showing. They sent a statement from CEO Doug McMillon, which was originally delivered at an investors meeting last October:
"Every store I go in has room to improve. I can take you to stores right now and we can walk out of that store with a list of things that we can do better. And if we nail those, one store at a time, our short-term performance gets better."
Here are the top-rated supermarkets according to Consumer Reports 2014 Supermarket Survey. Stores with the same scores are listed alphabetically:
- Wegmans (90)
- Publix and Trader Joe's (87)
- Fareway Stores and Market Basket (85)
- Costco and Raley's (84)
- Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market, Stater Bros. and Winco (83).
A complete list of the ratings is in the May issue of Consumer Reports.
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