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E-commerce excellence

H-E-B rings up No. 1 ranking in new study of online grocers

H-E-B grocery store
H-E-B ranks as the best online grocer in the U.S., beating retail giants Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Walmart, and Walmart-owned Sam’s Club to claim the top spot. Photo courtesy of H-E-B

San Antonio-based H-E-B 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.
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