E-commerce excellence
H-E-B rings up No. 1 ranking in new study of online grocers
Texas' favorite grocery store has once again bagged a big honor in the grocery business.
In its inaugural study of e-commerce retailers that sell groceries, “customer science” company dunnhumby ranks H-E-B as the best online grocer in the U.S. It beat retail giants Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Walmart, and Walmart-owned Sam’s Club to claim the top spot.
“Although the dominance of Amazon and Walmart in the online space might not come as a surprise, H-E-B stands out in first place,” the study says, “and it is worth highlighting the regional grocer has the best emotional connection … out of all of the retailers in this study.”
Here are H-E-B’s top rankings in the study:
- First place for ease of using the H-E-B app.
- First place for ease of paying for purchases.
- First place for on-time order deliveries.
- Second place for accuracy of charges.
- Second place for speed of online shopping.
- Second place for convenience of pickup and delivery time slots.
- Second place for convenient location of brick-and-mortar stores.
Overall, H-E-B earns high marks for customer sentiment and financial performance in the online grocery category. Despite the “colossal size” of Amazon and Walmart, the study says, H-E-B stands tall “based largely on the strength of their customer value proposition.”
The study notes that H-E-B also excels in the online grocery department as compared with other regional grocers, such as Kroger.
“H-E-B distinguishes itself from other regional retailers for having great digital assets that customers prefer when grocery shopping for its ease of use and reliability,” the study says. “H-E-B customers trust its platforms and its ability to fulfill their online orders.”
The shoutout in the dunnhumby study is one of several accolades H-E-B has collected in recent years. For example:
- Earlier this year, dunnhumby named H-E-B the second best grocery retailer in the U.S., behind Amazon.
- H-E-B tied for second place in a 2020 ranking by Market Force of the top U.S. grocers for customer loyalty. Market Force measures the customer experience at retail stores, coffee shops, and restaurants.
- Two years ago, Food & Wineanointed H-E-B the king of grocers in the U.S.
By now, most Austin diners know what to expect from an upscale sushi restaurant. Sushi Roku combines "Western influences with internationally inspired accents."
Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of IDG
