Costco Beats Aldi in Grocery Value Perception, YouGov Finds

U.S. consumers rate Costco slightly higher than Aldi for grocery value, with the membership club earning a net value score of 38 versus Aldi's 35, according to data from analytics firm YouGov.

Both retailers enjoy strong reputations for helping grocery shoppers save money. But when YouGov asked U.S. adults to compare the two on value for money, the club retailer came out ahead — and the results looked very different depending on respondents' ages.

Baby boomers assigned the same value score, 37, to both retailers. Generation X flipped the overall result, giving Aldi a two-point edge over Costco, the London-based research company reported.

Younger shoppers drove Costco's advantage. Generation Z respondents gave the club retailer a value score of 44, compared with 32 for Aldi — a 12-point gap. Costco also held a nine-point lead among Millennials.

The data suggests Costco is well-positioned to win increased spending from these younger consumers as their spending power grows and they start families, YouGov noted.

The figures come from rolling surveys YouGov conducted over a yearlong period that began in September 2025.

The gap between the two retailers' value scores was not static. YouGov reported that the difference varied markedly during the research window and narrowed as the survey progressed. Costco's score rose in January and climbed again in May and June before tailing off, while Aldi's score moved up during the final weeks of the period.

For marketers, the generational split is the story. A value message that resonates with boomer and Gen X shoppers — where Aldi remains competitive — may not land with Gen Z and Millennial audiences, where Costco's value perception holds a double-digit or near-double-digit lead. As Gen Z households move into their prime grocery-spending years, that perception gap gives Costco a measurable head start.