Proximity, affordability, and diversity might all be things taken into account when picking one’s favorite grocery store—but the defining factor is something else entirely.
According to the recently published 2026 State of Fresh Grocery Shopping Report by consulting company Logile, American grocery shoppers are looking for freshness above all when picking out a store and deciding whether to return.
The report’s findings reveal that a store’s reputation and loyalty is mostly built around departments that carry fresh foods like produce, meat, dairy, and baked goods. Of the 1,000 Americans surveyed in March 2026, 91% said that a store’s fresh departments were highly influential in determining their trust.
“The data confirms what we see across our retail partners every day: Fresh departments are a trust engine, not a cost center,” Purna Mishra, founder and CEO of Logile, said in a statement.
Respondents also shared a negative response to produce on display that looked old or spoiled, with 43% saying it quickly eroded their trust in the store. Other trust-eroding factors include unpleasant odors and dirty displays, underscoring the importance of sensory and visual elements.
The report details that 78% of respondents surveyed said they choose stores with better-looking fresh produce departments. The inverse effect is also true: 84% of respondents said a poorly maintained fresh produce department can change their view of the entire store.
The freshness factor seems to be particularly important to parents, with almost half saying they choose a store based on fresh departments, whereas non-parents are more likely to use price as a defining factor.
“When shoppers walk into a store and see full, well-maintained displays of fresh food, they make an instant judgment about the quality of the entire operation,” Mishra added. “That judgment drives where they shop, what they spend, and whether they come back.”