Publix no longer the top grocery store in Florida, study finds

FLORIDA – A fan-favorite grocery chain has just surpassed Florida’s very own Publix brand of stores, according to the latest report by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

More specifically, the report examines customer satisfaction across a broad range of industries and companies.

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Within the supermarket industry more generally, the study notes that satisfaction appears to have come down a bit compared to last year.

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“As supermarkets continue to struggle amid inflationary prices and stiff competition, supermarket customer satisfaction declines slightly in 2026, falling 1% to an ACSI score of 78,” the study reads.

Most of the supermarkets included in the study either showed no change or only marginal improvements from the last report, except for three: Trader Joe’s, Save A Lot and H-E-B.

Last year, Trader Joe’s and Publix were neck-and-neck for the No. 1 spot, tying with a total score of 84.

But while Publix stagnated, Trader Joe’s shot up a couple of points, solidly taking the top spot for itself, ACSI says.

“This is especially noteworthy given (Trader Joe’s) continued national expansion efforts, which can often strain operations and jeopardize consistency,” the study continues. “Instead, Trader Joe’s maintains its hallmark customer experience, reinforcing its strong brand loyalty even amid growth.”

Meanwhile, the full list of scores on the index is as follows: