These Three Businesses Were Most Popular With American Consumers In 2016

A new index from The NPD Group’s Checkout Tracking SM shows that Walmart, McDonald’s and Target top the list of retailer and food service chains, with better than five out of six U.S. consumers shopping with them in 2016.

According to a press release, the Checkout Penetration Index, based on millions of receipts from consumers across all retailers and restaurants, both online and in brick-and-mortar, answers one simple question: “What percentage of all U. S. consumers bought at each store or restaurant?” Information is collected from more than 50,000 consumers from NPD’s mobile phone app, as well as through the scanning of more than 4 million inboxes for e-receipts through Slice Intelligence.

The report found that 84 percent of American consumers spent their money at Walmart, McDonald’s and Target last year. The biggest gainer in the restaurant market in the Top 25 was Chick-fil-A, which saw a 5 percentage point increase, while the biggest boost among retailers came from Dollar Tree, which saw a 3 percentage point increase. It’s important to note that both Chick-fil-A and Dollar Tree have been expanding their operations aggressively.

“The battle for every consumer dollar is heating up, and we must shift from studying what consumers purchase to how they spend their money,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, The NPD Group, Inc. “Consumers spending on experiences is overlapping with their purchases of products, making every item and visit so important to competing in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.”