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As a kid, my family shopped at Star Market instead of rivals like Market Basket. My mother likely had a reason for the preference. It very well could have been geography, but we were loyal, and it was rare that we shopped anywhere else for our primary groceries.

Loyalty to an understated, practical company such as a grocery store chain is about price and convenience, Babson College Marketing Professor Lauren Beitelspacher told Babson Thought & Action, but it’s also about trust, routine, and the comfort of the familiar.

“Consumers tend to develop brand loyalty when their experience with a product or service consistently exceeds expectations,” Beitelspacher explained. “Given the routine nature of grocery shopping, that loyalty can form relatively quickly.”

Those loyalties have been tested by discount grocery players, including Amazon, Walmart, and Target, but consumers who visit a brand weekly develop affection and loyalty to that brand. This makes it emotional when a longstanding player in a space shuts down.

Terrel’s Markets, a regional grocery store brand that opened its doors in 1946, will soon disappear.

Supermarkets have loyal customers

Even in the internet age, consumers have remained more loyal to grocery chains than other types of retailers. There’s an iconic reason for that.

“Store loyalty was pretty much a given in grocery retail,” senior author Seethu Seetharaman, director of the Center of Customer Analytics and Big Data and the W. Patrick McGinnis Professor of Marketing at Olin Business School, told Supermarket News. “When people do their shopping, it’s the store close to where they live — location, location, location, like the real estate mantra.

Location, however, is not the only reason consumers remain loyal to a retailer.

“Overall, regardless of retailer type, the top reasons cited by shoppers for loyalty to specific retail companies are price/value (92%), product quality (79%), variety/selection (71%), and store location (70%),” according to data from ICSC.

Shoppers are also not as loyal as they think.

“Shoppers believe they are loyal and have a desire to be loyal, but they do not behave in a loyal way because they do not have all of their needs satisfied by their primary grocery store,” according to FMI research from the Food Industry Association.

People tend to become loyal to their local grocery store.

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Terrel’s Markets has been sold

“Ridley’s Family Markets, a family-owned grocery retailer with locations across the Intermountain West, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Terrel’s Markets. The transaction is expected to be completed on or near the first week of April 2026,” the company shared in a Feb. 2 press release.

The new owner plans to rebrand the stores, which means the end of the Terrel’s Markets name.

“The deal, expected to be completed during or near the first week of April, includes Terrel’s entire six-store footprint. Ridley’s said it will transition each of these locations to either its Ridley’s Family Markets or Macey’s banners,” Grocery Dive reported.

Ridley’s operates just under 40 locations and will acquire all six Terrel’s Markets.

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All employees will be offered jobs by the new owner.

“As part of the transition, Ridley’s leadership has emphasized a commitment to supporting employees and maintaining the customer service standards both companies are known for. Additional details regarding store branding, operations, and timelines will be shared with employees and customers as the transition approaches,” the new owner shared.

Terrel’s Markets timeline:

1946, Terrel’s Markets founded: Terrel’s was established as a community grocery retailer based in Mount Pleasant, Utah, according to CBI Insights.
2000s to 2020s, community grocery retailer: Terrel’s Markets continued operating independently with multiple locations in Fillmore, Gunnison, Mount Pleasant, Nephi, Payson, and Santaquin, Utah, reported the Shelby Report.
2026 (Feb. 2), acquisition agreement announced: Ridley’s Family Markets agreed to acquire all six Terrel’s locations, the Shelby Report added.
2026 (Feb. 6), naming change shared: Ridley’s confirmed that the stores will transition to Ridley’s or Macey’s banners, according to AF Stores.
2026 (expected April), completion of transition: Transaction expected to close and store transitions will begin, added Fresh Plaza.

“Ridley’s Family Markets was founded when Jerry and Connie Ridley opened their first store, in Payson, Utah. The acquisition is particularly meaningful, as one of Terrel’s locations is in Payson, bringing the Ridley family’s grocery roots full circle back to where the company began,” according to Progressive Grocer.