--- title: "Kroger vs Trader Joe's: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Kroger or Trader Joe's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Grocery chains set in the United States. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/kroger-vs-trader-joes" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Kroger vs Trader Joe's: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Kroger or Trader Joe's more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Grocery chains set in the United States. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Kroger and Trader Joe's - **Competitive set**: Grocery chains - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Kroger Share of Search**: 12.8% - **Trader Joe's Share of Search**: 28.5% ## Is Kroger or Trader Joe's more popular in search? - In September 2026, Trader Joe's had more branded searches than Kroger among grocery chains in the United States. Trader Joe's had about 16.6 million branded searches, while Kroger had 7.5 million. Trader Joe's made up 28.5% of all grocery chain searches we track, and Kroger accounted for 12.8%. - Trader Joe's was ahead of Kroger in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Kroger’s share of searches among grocery chains in the United States moved from 12.1% to 12.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 7.5M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Trader Joe's’ share of searches among grocery chains in the United States moved from 26.9% to 28.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 16.6M. ## Top grocery chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Trader Joe's was mentioned in two out of three: in two of the three ChatGPT answers. Kroger was mentioned in one out of three: in one of the three ChatGPT answers. Trader Joe's was listed before Kroger in every answer that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Aldi | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Trader Joe's | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | H-E-B | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Publix | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Whole Foods Market | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | WinCo Foods | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | | Wegmans | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Kroger | 8th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Safeway | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Meijer | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Food Lion | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Albertsons | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about grocery chains - Asked ChatGPT "Which grocery store chain is the best in the US?": 1. Trader Joe's, 2. Aldi, 3. H-E-B, 4. Whole Foods Market - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best supermarket chains in the US?": 1. H-E-B, 2. Trader Joe's, 3. Publix, 4. Aldi, 5. Wegmans, 6. Whole Foods Market, 7. Kroger, 8. WinCo Foods - Asked ChatGPT "Which grocery chain in the US has the lowest prices?": 1. Aldi, 2. WinCo Foods Not named in any answer: Safeway, Meijer, Food Lion and Albertsons. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States grocery chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, Trader Joe's gained share of searches among grocery chains in the United States, from 23.3% to 28.5%. ## Month by month | Month | Kroger estimated searches | Kroger Share of Search | Kroger rank | Trader Joe's estimated searches | Trader Joe's Share of Search | Trader Joe's rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 7.5M | 12.1% | 3 | 16.6M | 26.9% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 9.1M | 13.7% | 3 | 16.6M | 24.9% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 9.1M | 13% | 3 | 16.6M | 23.7% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 7.5M | 12.6% | 3 | 13.6M | 23% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 7.5M | 14% | 3 | 13.6M | 25.5% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 7.5M | 12.2% | 3 | 16.6M | 27.1% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 7.5M | 13.1% | 3 | 13.6M | 23.8% | 1 | | May 2026 | 7.5M | 12.1% | 3 | 16.6M | 26.8% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 7.5M | 12.3% | 3 | 16.6M | 27.2% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 7.5M | 12.5% | 3 | 13.6M | 22.7% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 7.5M | 12.8% | 3 | 13.6M | 23.3% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 7.5M | 12.8% | 3 | 16.6M | 28.5% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Kroger’s and Trader Joe's’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Kroger**: Measured on the search term “kroger”. - **Trader Joe's**: Measured on the search terms “trader joe's” and “trader joes”, summed into one figure. - [Kroger profile](/demand/us/brands/kroger) - [Trader Joe's profile](/demand/us/brands/trader-joes) - [All grocery chains in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-grocery-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 12 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Kroger or Trader Joe's more popular in search? In September 2026, Trader Joe's had more branded searches than Kroger among grocery chains in the United States. Trader Joe's had about 16.6 million branded searches, while Kroger had 7.5 million. Trader Joe's made up 28.5% of all grocery chain searches we track, and Kroger accounted for 12.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Kroger vs Trader Joe's: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/kroger-vs-trader-joes This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/kroger-vs-trader-joes. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.