The 15 Worst Supermarkets In America
Reader Score: 72
Location: Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Maryland
Year Founded: 1918
This chain received mediocre scores in most categories and a poor score on local produce quality and price satisfaction. Earlier this month, the chain recalled 38 food products with undeclared allergens, which likely won’t help its reputation.
Flickr/Nicholas Eckhart
Reader score: 72
Year founded: 1925
Locations: Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi
Late last month the retailer announced it would close 23 "under-performing" stores. Consumer Reports readers gave the chain mostly average scores, with low marks in local product selection.
Reader score: 71
Year founded: 1923
Locations: Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania
This mid-Atlantic chain received middling scores in most categories. Despite it's apparent lack of love from customers, the chain was named Retailer of the Year by Progressive Grocer in 2014, thanks to its philanthropy.
Reader Score: 71
Year founded: 1966
Location: Texas
Although this Texas chain got a decent cleanliness score, it lands toward the bottom of the list thanks to poor scores on prices and local product quality. In 1999, the chain became part of Safeway, Inc.
Wikimedia Commons
Reader Score: 71
Year founded: 1915
Location: Western/Central United States
Earlier this year, Safeway merged with rival chain Albertson’s to create the second largest U.S. grocer in the country, after Kroger. The combined company has sales of more than $55 billion a year and operates more than 2,200 stores.
Flickr/Thomas Hawk
Reader score: 70
Year founded: 1899
Location: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana
The chain received poor scores on price and local product quality. It may also be falling down on customer security: Last fall the chain said it had been the victim of a credit card hack that potentially exposed consumer information to hackers.
leopardo.com
Reader score: 70
Year founded: 1914 as Shopmate, 1947 as Stop & Shop
Location: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania
This Northeast chain is near the bottom of the list, thanks to poor scores in service, price, and local product quality. It was rated at or below average on all other factors.
Flickr/Mike Mozart
Reader score: 70
Year founded: 1891
Location: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland
This nearly 125-year-old chain, now owned by Albertson’s, scored particularly poorly on price and local product quality. It received at or below average ratings in all other categories as well.
Flickr/Adam Fagen
Reader score: 69
Location: Wisconsin
Year founded: 1872
Consumers gave this 93-store chain, owned by Rundy’s Supermarkets, the lowest-possible rating in price and local product quality, and average or below average ratings on everything else.
fridayfishfryguide.com
Reader score: 67
Location: New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont
Year founded: 1962
The 158-store chain received low scores on most Consumer Reports categories. It may not be highly regarded by consumers, but last month Tops was named Independent Retailer of the Year by trade publication Grocery Headquarters, which recognized the chain for its growth in market and sales.
Wikimedia Commons
Reader score: 67
Year founded: 1860
Location: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
This New England supermarket chain received low scores on price and local product quality. It received average or below average scores on all other categories in the survey.
Flickr/Jess Davies
Reader score: 66
Year founded: 1968
Location: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
This supermarket (which was ranked the worst in 2012) received negative scores on food quality, service, cleanliness and prices. The mid-Atlantic chain is a division of A&P.
Flickr/Matthew Rutledge
Reader score: 64 out of 100
Year founded: 1859
Location: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
Once the largest food retailer in the nation, A&P has struggled to regain its market share since emerging from bankruptcy in 2010. The chain tied with Walmart and Waldbaum’s with the worst scores among supermarkets surveyed.
Flickr/Andy
Reader score: 64 out of 100
Year founded: Walmart in 1962/Supercenters in 1988
Location: Nationwide
For the second year in a row, the nation’s largest retailer pulled up the rear on the Consumer Reports list. While customers aren’t thrilled, workers may be happy with the 4,200-store chain, which announced in February that it would increase minimum wage for its workers to $10 an hour.
Flickr/Ron Dauphin
Reader score: 64 out of 100
Year founded: 1904
Locations: New York
The A&P subsidiary received the worst possible score on food quality, service, cleanliness, price satisfaction and product quality/variety. It received below average scores on all other categories.
Flickr/Tim_F_Bklyn