Traditional supermarkets are experiencing a resurgence as a preferred destination for grocery shoppers, Jose Gomes, North America president for dunnhumby, said in an SN Off the Shelf podcast.

Dunnhumby recently released its third annual U.S. Grocery Retailer Preference Index (RPI). The study by the global customer data science firm, whose U.S. office is in Chicago, examined the 60 largest retailers in the $700 billion U.S. grocery market to identify which ones have the strongest combination of consumer emotional sentiment and financial performance.

This year, H-E-B came in at No. 1, toppling Trader Joe’s, which dipped to No. 2 after finishing first the previous two years. Market Basket cracked the top five, coming in at No. 4 and pushing last year’s second-place finisher Costco Wholesale to No. 6. Amazon (No. 3) and Wegmans Foods Markets (No. 5) held onto their spots from a year ago.

Rounding out the grocery retailers in the top quartile of the 2020 RPI were Aldi (No. 7), Sam’s Club (No. 8), Walmart (No. 9), Publix Super Markets (No. 10), WinCo Foods (No. 11), Fresh Thyme Farmers Market (No. 12), Sprouts Farmers Markets (No. 13) and ShopRite (No. 14). Lowes Foods saw the biggest year-over-year gain, climbing to No. 26 from No. 31.

Dunnhumby’s research focuses on seven “pillars” shaping the consumer emotional connection to a grocery retailer and its financial performance: price, quality, digital, operations, convenience, discounts/rewards and speed. The RPI stands out from other retailer rankings because it rates companies on a composite of financial success, emotional bond and performance on customer preferences.