According to The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which is an economic Customer satisfaction indicator founded at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business to, Publix Super Markets (PINK:PUSH) is on top in customer satisfaction with a score of 84.

In general, supermarkets received a score of 76 — a 1.3% improvement from last year. This is despite inflation leaving consumers purchasing food (prepared at home) that, in 2010, rose 1.7% from 2009 and then increased again by 6%in 2011. Publix has held the position as top supermarket for customer satisfaction for every year since 1994.

In contrast, the more recognizable supermarket Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is currently scraping the bottom of the list, down 3% to a score of 69 — well below the average. Wal-Mart’s notoriety and success comes from its ability to supply consumers with necessities for very low prices. However, their relatively low score suggests that cost  alone is not the driving factor for customers’ satisfaction — even during hard times such as these.

For companies like Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM), this is nothing new. Gaining 1.3% to reach 80, customer satisfaction for Whole Foods has been on an upward swing every year since 2007 — no doubt due to their health-conscience selections and focus on quality over low prices.

Click here for ASCI’s full list of charts, or view the individual sectors here.

— Andrew Lander, InvestorPlace @andrewlander