{"id":503180,"date":"2026-01-09T07:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503180\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T07:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:04:15","slug":"sas-h-e-b-named-best-u-s-grocery-store-for-4th-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503180\/","title":{"rendered":"SA’s H-E-B named best U.S. grocery store for 4th year"},"content":{"rendered":"

While shoppers across the U.S. debate where to buy groceries, San Antonians are already in line. A new national ranking once again puts H-E-B<\/a> at the top, naming the hometown grocer the best in the nation for the fourth year running.<\/p>\n

The honor comes from Dunnhumby<\/a>, a global consumer research firm that studies how and where Americans shop. Its annual Retailer Preference Index<\/a> for grocers looks at both business performance and what customers actually think of the stores they visit, surveying more than 11,000 shoppers across the country and analyzing the nation\u2019s massive grocery market<\/p>\n

H-E-B has remained at the top of the list for much of the 2020s, briefly losing its throne during the COVID-19 pandemic to Amazon when ease of delivery trumped in-store experiences. Dunnhumby calls the San Antonio favorite a \u201cunicorn,\u201d delivering consistent quality, variety of goods, and savings.<\/p>\n

The last factor is playing a bigger role than ever in 2026. The study found that helping customers stretch their grocery dollars now accounts for 41 percent of a retailer\u2019s long-term success \u2014 the highest level the index has ever recorded. Dunnhumby president Matt O\u2019Grady said in a statement that many Americans are feeling financial pressure from multiple directions.<\/p>\n

\u201cShopper confidence dropped as concerns about higher prices, fewer job opportunities, and stagnant wages eroded purchasing power,\u201d O\u2019Grady said. \u201cConsumers across all income levels are feeling the squeeze and making more price-conscious choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, for many Texans, H-E-B\u2019s appeal feels more personal. As part of the survey, Dunnhumby collected comments from each brand\u2019s most loyal customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, H-E-B is just an amazing store all around,\u201d wrote one shopper. \u201cThe sales and discounts you offer are always really good \u2014 I can actually save money on stuff I buy regularly, not just random things I don’t need,\u201d the shopper wrote.<\/p>\n

That value proposition seemed to be part of a national trend. Regional grocery chains, which are more able to adapt to local preferences, are thriving in America. For the first time in the index\u2019s history, the top three spots were claimed by regional players. H-E-B, Massachusetts-based Market Basket, and Wisconsin\u2019s Woodman\u2019s dominated over national giants like Costco and Walmart.<\/p>\n

Although Dunnhumby’s data didn\u2019t dig into intangibles, it doesn’t hurt that local brands endear themselves to their communities. H-E-B scores customer goodwill by its \u201cTexas FEMA\u201d disaster response team, programs like its Excellence in Education Awards<\/a>, and fun promotions like its recent airport vending machines<\/a> in major airports.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re not just another big chain,\u201d wrote the commenter about H-E-B. \u201cYou actually care about local stuff, help out during tough times, and it shows that you’re invested here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While shoppers across the U.S. debate where to buy groceries, San Antonians are already in line. A new…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":503181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,47387,23770,12437,10545,7202,7203,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-503180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-grocery-store","10":"tag-h-e-b","11":"tag-rankings","12":"tag-reports","13":"tag-san-antonio","14":"tag-sanantonio","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115863870746552030","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}