Walmart Enticing More Affluent Consumers: Report

New research affirms Walmart’s latest quarterly report showing an influx of higher-income consumers shopping across the retail giant’s channels. Fresh data from YouGov shows consideration for Walmart among households earning more than $100,000 a year has risen to 54% from 50.6% last year. The mass merchandiser – which recently came in at No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America – also tops competitors for attracting consumers looking for snacks.

YouGov’s report looked at consumer assessment of Walmart and other large retailers, including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, Target, Costco and ALDI. While Walmart led in affluent household attraction and snacking, other banners scored points with shopped for various aspects of their business:

• Whole Foods also saw an uptick in consideration among higher-income shoppers, moving up from 23.3% to 26.8%, while Trader Joe’s fell in this demographic from 33.3% to 30.3%.
• When it comes to snacking, Trader Joe's customers are more likely to look for healthy snacks. More than half (54%) of Trader Joe’s shoppers say they often seek out better-for-you versions of their favorite products, compared to 41% of Walmart and Whole Foods shoppers.
• In the premium arena, Whole Foods came in tops for shoppers looking for those kinds of products, followed by Trader Joe’s. Walmart came in third, representing an opportunity to capture higher-end shoppers looking for premium offerings via Walmart’s recently-announced bettergoods line. 
• Consumers who consider themselves healthy snackers report that they would consider buying those products from Walmart, along with Target, Costco and ALDI, in that order.  
• People who shop at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods were more likely to over-index on nearly every label compared to Walmart shoppers, indicating that they pay close attention to food labels.

Meanwhile, YouGov also recently released its ranking of the most popular grocery stores during the first quarter of 2024. C-store chain 7-Eleven took the top spot, with a 67% score for popularity and a 98% score for fame. Rounding out the top 10: Trader Joe’s (65% popularity, 95% fame); Kroger (62%, 94%); ALDI (62%, 89%); Whole Foods Market (61%, 95%); Circle K (55%, 88%); Safeway (53%, 87%); Albertsons (51%, 83%); Piggly Wiggly (49%, 85%); and Amazon Fresh (49%, 87%). 

On the CPG side, YouGov shared the ranking of the top consumer brands during Q1. Dawn , Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and M&M's tied for first, with an 83% score for popularity, followed by Ziploc (81%), Samsung (81%), Band-Aid (80%), Hershey’s Kisses (79%), Kit Kat (79%), Reese’s (79%) and Lay’s (79%).