Consumer Reports: Top Grocery Stores

[bhelms]

Na. We've got Giant Eagle's in NE Ohio. They're all over the damn place as a matter of fact.

Giant is not part of the Giant Eagle chain. The second link below is for the ones we have locally. The nearest Giant Eagle to me is about 25 miles to the west in Altoona.

Giant Eagle - Your Neighborhood Supermarket - Grocery Store and Pharmacy, Combined

GIANT Food Stores

 

[Skyhi]

The only thing I care about is price and a clean store. That's it. Good luck finding a Trader Joes store. Ha. And while Publix is a nice store I'm not going to pay extra money because the person behind the counter talked nice to me. Give me a break. The fat free Ice Cream I purchase at Walmart is $2.32 higher at Publix for the exact same thing. The Walmart I go to is very nice . And in this economy they can really save you money.

Whole Foods is very expensive. I can order many of the products they have online from other stores at a lower price. They should have broken it down having national stores with at least 500 stores and then the other guys. Many don't have the choice of a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.

I would never buy meat or produce from Walmart....you can be sure its supplied by the lowest bidder.

I don't want to get political in a What's Cookin forum, but it could be argued that the proliferation of Walmart is a contributing factor to "this economy."

 

[HD MM]

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country and Publix and Walmart has many stores? I smell a rat here folks. How could they ask all these people to rank store that they never went to?

The grades were from people who recently shopped at these stores. They only graded on the stores they shop at.

 

[HD MM]

I would never buy meat or produce from Walmart....you can be sure its supplied by the lowest bidder.

I don't want to get political in a What's Cookin forum, but it could be argued that the proliferation of Walmart is a contributing factor to "this economy."

Amen Brother Sky. :up

 

[HD MM]

I'm probably biased, but I always try and talk the place up. They've been local for 80+ years, have reasonable hours (which is good for employees), and actually have full-time employees who make enough money to support themselves.

And that's why I try and support Heinen's whenever possible, for the primary reason they're local. I continue to only hear good things about this store too. Thanks for the first hand account. In reality, WF and Heinen's come close to splitting my grocery dollar.

As for Heinen's bakery... Oh my! Best in the area. Hands down.

 

[bhelms]

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country...

Wegman's has 71 stores in 5 states, but agreed it is very regional. However you can say that about a number of the stores on the list...

Company Overview| Wegmans

 

[televisionarchives]

The grades were from people who recently shopped at these stores. They only graded on the stores they shop at.

That's the problem. How many people were asked about each store? 10 for the number one rated store and like 3000 for Walmart? I don't read Consumer Reports but it would be interesting to see the numbers. If they rated cable number 1 and asked 10 people compared to 5000 people that sub to Directv or Dish I wouldn't trust the survey. And Walmart is not always the lowest price store . I don't buy any of my electronics at Walmart for the most part but they do have the lowest priced food.

 

[HD MM]

That's the problem. How many people were asked about each store? 10 for the number one rated store and like 3000 for Walmart? I don't read Consumer Reports but it would be interesting to see the numbers. If they rated cable number 1 and asked 10 people compared to 5000 people that sub to Directv or Dish I wouldn't trust the survey

I guess you'd have to read the latest Consumer Reports to find the grading criteria, but I don't see how a weighted poll like you suggest would be legit. I'd imagine it's gotta be pretty equal.

 

[yourbeliefs]

How can they fairly rank these stores when Wegmans only has like 14 stores in a small part of the country and Publix and Walmart has many stores? I smell a rat here folks. How could they ask all these people to rank store that they never went to? . And for all the bashing that Walmart gets for putting other stores out of business I can tell you about one Health Food Store that closed here because of a Whole Food store opening about a mile away from them.

I think it is a little questionable when they put up stores that most of the country can't even get to in the top 10. Of the Top 10, only 3 of the stores are within driving distance, and not exactly convenient driving distances either.

That being said, 2 of the places in the top 10 I've never been to and am now interested to see. I question how good Whole Food's meat is versus Costco/Shop Rite/Stop & Shop meat and if the added price is validated by the supposed added quality, but I won't know until I try it. My wife and I will be going shopping this weekend, so we'll probably find out then.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I guess you'd have to read the latest Consumer Reports to find the grading criteria, but I don't see how a weighted poll like you suggest would be legit. I'd imagine it's gotta be pretty equal.

If you have a subscription (like my dad does) you can read the full report now on their website. Here's what they say:

Ratings are based on 32,599 responses to the Grocery Store Shopper Survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Respondents told us about their experiences at one or two supermarkets, supercenters, or warehouse clubs between April 2007 and April 2008. The survey covers a total of 48,831 visits. Findings reflect the experiences of our readers, not necessarily those of the general population.

Source (membership required)

 

[navychop]

Actually, I was surprised that prices at Wegman's weren't even higher. They're more, but not that much more, around here. Yep, shopping there is an event. Good food court. Very wide selection at the butcher, fish, deli and bakery counters. AND- they know their stuff. You can ask questions and get answers. Employees are not low wage "IDUNNO" types. I had a great chat with a butcher over the use of bone marrow, and the deli guy was very proud of his ability to slice prosciutto so thin you could see thru it. Baguettes to kill for. Probably more bread choices than Great Harvest, even. And the black diamond cheddar.........

Yep, Giant is widespread. Good day to day store. Of course, any store I can walk to (now have our own little tow behind cart for groceries) is gonna get a lot of my business.

 

[bhelms]

Your Giant is different yet than the 2 I linked above! Common name in the grocery "market"...

 

[HDRoberts]

Of the top 10, here in NE Ohio we have 3 nearby. (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco).

The wife and I shop regularly at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

We've got Trader Joe's, but I wish we could get a Whole Foods on the West Side.

 

[HD MM]

We've got Trader Joe's, but I wish we could get a Whole Foods on the West Side.

Yeah, as an East Sider, I'm lucky with all my shopping choices. As for the West-side, I think the Westlake/Crocker Park area would be a good location.

 

[HDRoberts]

Yeah, as an East Sider, I'm lucky with all my shopping choices. As for the West-side, I think the Westlake/Crocker Park area would be a good location.

I'd prefer Westgate. But Whole Foods continues to overlook us.