7-Eleven tops best grocery store list
These days, the favorite grocery store in the U.S. is not even a supermarket, a new survey says.
Based on research from YouGov, Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is the most popular place for people in the U.S. to get their groceries, according to Eat This, Not That. With a 62 percent popularity rating, the retailer beat out discounter Aldi and supermarket giant Kroger (which both had a 61 percent rating).
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods came in fourth and fifth on the list (at 58 percent and 53 percent, respectively). Albertsons and Piggly Wiggly also made an appearance, as well as other convenience stores including Circle K and 7-Eleven-owned Speedway. Millennials, in particular, favored 7-Eleven more than Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, who preferred to shop at Kroger. And men chose 7-Eleven more than women, who were bigger fans of Aldi.
Convenience stores have become a more popular meal destination at a time when inflation is driving people to be more cost conscious, as a PYMNTS article explores. Low-income consumers have been turning to food pickup from c-stores rather than pricier delivery.
Foodservice is a point of emphasis at 7-Eleven, but has not been its sole focus. The chain recently opened its ninth “Evolution” store in the country and fifth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This particular location features an in-store Laredo Taco Company restaurant, custom beverages and even a premium cigar humidor. 7-Eleven Evolution stores are meant as testing grounds for new technologies and offerings, and gives the retailer an opportunity to tweak product and design in response to customer feedback.
The convenience store giant has also improved its technological positioning, introducing features like app-based home delivery as well as delivery through DoorDash and Instacart. These features have become table stakes in the convenience vertical, with 57 percent of operators having some sort of last-mile fulfillment solution in place.