Wegmans has been declared the country's top rated grocery retailer in a consumer survey conducted by Consumer Reports. Wegmans took the Consumer Reports crown by beating out local favorites such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Trader Joe's stood on third spot, whereas Whole Foods shocked everybody by coming 15th on the list. It was even behind cut-rate chain Aldi and bulk shop Costco.

The magazine survey included around 63,000 of its readers, who were asked about their shopping habits. Consumer Reports rated 68 supermarkets nationwide on the quality of their fresh food.

The participants ranked their nearby markets based on the categories such as cleanliness, cost, freshness and staff courtesy. They were asked about the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, store-prepared foods.

Walmart is the biggest grocery chain in the country, but it scored near the bottom of the ratings as it has got low marks in all freshness categories.

The Supercenter also didn't perform well in terms of its courteous staff and store cleanliness. Although it scored better as compared to many chains for its prices, but it wasn't the best for price.

Following the survey, Consumer Reports contacted Walmart for a comment. In a statement, the CEO, Doug McMillon, said, "Every store I go in has room to improve . And if we nail those, one store at a time, our short-term performance gets better".