Market Basket is the No. 2 grocery chain in the United States for the second year in a row, according to a new ranking.
The Tewksbury, Mass.-headquartered supermarket with nearly 100 stores in New England is second on the list of top grocery retailers compiled by customer data science firm dunnhumby. Once again, HEB, a Texas-based chain, tops the rankings.
Dunnhumby said the most important factor in a retailer’s long-term success is “saving money for customers.”
“Consumers at all income levels are feeling the pressure and making more price-conscious choices,” Matt O’Grady, president of Dunnhumby’s Americas region, said in a statement. “In this environment, building trust with U.S. buyers has never been more crucial.”
Several other options for Massachusetts shoppers also made the top 20 list, including Costco (No. 4), Aldi (5), Trader Joe’s (7), Amazon Fresh (8), Wegmans (9), Walmart (11) and Westboro-based BJ’s (20). Big Y, based in Springfield, has also been recognized by Dunnhumby for its quality and wide variety of local products.
“Another thing that really sets Market Basket apart is that they don’t have a self-checkout aisle,” said Grant Welker of the Boston Business Journal. “Market Basket feels like they want one person waiting for another person and that human connection is what really sets it apart from a lot of its competitors.”
This high ranking comes in the middle of a long period family power struggle to the market basket. The board of directors licensed the popular CEO Arthur T. Demoulas in September, a few months later hang it for allegedly planning a work stoppage. Both sides sued each other and was tried in Delaware in December. The court is expected to issue a decision this year.
In 2014, Market Basket experienced an unprecedented customer boycott when Demoulas was first fired. Thousands of workers walk out in support of ‘Artie T’ and supermarket shelves became naked as many truck drivers refused to make deliveries.
