This didn’t tell me much that I didn’t already know, but I did learn some interesting tidbits. I stopped shopping for groceries at Walmart years ago because it was actually surprisingly expensive....
This didn’t tell me much that I didn’t already know, but I did learn some interesting tidbits. I stopped shopping for groceries at Walmart years ago because it was actually surprisingly expensive. The prices were about the same as, say, Albertson’s or Von’s. I know that they’ve done a lot to improve their grocery department in more recent years, though, so this is more of a factor of them being in a relatively inconvenient location for me now that there is better competition.
The choices of stores to represent seem a bit odd to me. For Southern California they include WinCo (a great company I wish more people knew about), but they only have a handful of locations in the region and none of them are near Central LA. They don’t include Smart & Final which has significantly more locations. With them excluded it seems ever so slightly unfair to include Costco who is playing a different game than the rest with their exclusively bulk-sized packaging, something that S&F at least partially tries to compete in with select bulk items in their stores.
I’ve said this a lot but here in SoCal the Asian markets have fresh products that are higher quality, freshness, and with better variety while generally having lower prices. The same is likely true at Hispanic grocers.
That's interesting! I wonder if this is a regional thing. A Canadian finance site did a small, informal study in Ontario last year and found that Walmart was one of the cheapest places to buy...
I stopped shopping for groceries at Walmart years ago because it was actually surprisingly expensive.
That's interesting! I wonder if this is a regional thing.
Interestingly, Walmart has the cheapest option for 16 of the 30 items on our list – more than No Frills. This obviously means that some of No Frills' prices were significantly lower than Walmart's.
What I didn't mention was that price was actually one of two reasons why I stopped shopping there. The other reason is because they sold shockingly poor quality produce. They would literally have...
What I didn't mention was that price was actually one of two reasons why I stopped shopping there. The other reason is because they sold shockingly poor quality produce. They would literally have wilted lettuce in the cooler shelves, and had more than one time I had to go through the customer service line because they sold it in packaging that hid the fact that it was already going bad. When Aldi opened a store close enough to go to regularly, that was the death knell for my visits to Wal Mart.
And no, it wasn't just one location, it was the nearby "Neighborhood Market" location as well as the two nearest Supercenters.
That being said, I did get some produce since then, when I was trying to get some durable goods, and was pleasantly surprised that they were pretty good.
Tbh I shop for groceries almost exclusively by proximity. In practice I just don’t eat enough food for going large distances away to save dollars on an item to change very much. There’s also a lot...
Tbh I shop for groceries almost exclusively by proximity. In practice I just don’t eat enough food for going large distances away to save dollars on an item to change very much. There’s also a lot of other metrics I’m trying to optimize for in terms of food intake, like health. Or just choosing to cook at all.
Like, I could drive 30 minutes in normal traffic to get to Costco, so an hour round trip, so I can get eggs for $2, or I can go to the local incredibly overpriced supermarket that’s a 3 minute drive/ 10 minute walk and get eggs for $7/dozen, which is more than 3x the price but it takes me like two weeks to eat a dozen eggs, so would I rather spend $5 more to not have to drive for an hour? Kinda, yeah? If I eat out, it’s usually like $60-$80 so that’s a much bigger hit to the wallet anyway.
To be fair, these are major metropolitan areas, and so I think there's an assumption that you'll be able to get to an alternative option nearby without a huge difference in time. Where I live...
To be fair, these are major metropolitan areas, and so I think there's an assumption that you'll be able to get to an alternative option nearby without a huge difference in time. Where I live Costco locations are 30 minutes away from eachother, so you'll theoretically never be over 15 minutes away from one.
I always try to get the best value for everything, but realistically I like a bunch of weird ingredients so I end up going to a bunch of different stores to get all the things I need.
I was shocked to see Trader Joes so high up on that list. In my area their prices are consistently lower than Safeway. I'm going to do my own little investigation over the next few weeks and...
I was shocked to see Trader Joes so high up on that list. In my area their prices are consistently lower than Safeway. I'm going to do my own little investigation over the next few weeks and compare prices.
Also, good to see Costco coming in like an absolute champ. I love Costco.
In my experience, Trader Joes is quite expensive compared to other stores I generally shop at. It is also always super busy, so it is really hard to justify ever going there personally.
In my experience, Trader Joes is quite expensive compared to other stores I generally shop at. It is also always super busy, so it is really hard to justify ever going there personally.
My anecdotal experience is similar but the opposite. I haven’t shopped there in a while, but I did comparison shop it vs other supermarkets a few times. Its prices appeared lower, and I could get...
My anecdotal experience is similar but the opposite. I haven’t shopped there in a while, but I did comparison shop it vs other supermarkets a few times. Its prices appeared lower, and I could get a larger variety of things for the same money. But the quantity of things was smaller. So the actual price per gram would be similar or more than other supermarkets. But when I was shopping for just one person, it was still worth it because of less food waste.
The price depends a lot per item. I don’t see a listing of the exact items that were purchased. I generally like Costco but I don’t think that produce is less expensive at Costco than at Walmart....
The price depends a lot per item. I don’t see a listing of the exact items that were purchased.
I generally like Costco but I don’t think that produce is less expensive at Costco than at Walmart. Also you often have to buy large quantities at Costco and it may go bad before you can use it all.
Also comparing Trader Joe’s, Costco, and even Aldi to supermarkets like Safeway is a little hard (for me) because I make trips to the smaller stores for specific items. For example I like Trader Joe’s peanut butter so I get that and maybe raw nuts there, but I don’t get much produce or dairy there.
Not a big fan of this analysis. It's a single data point each store from a single point in time in a single year. Seems like a big discount on an item or two (or coincidental lack thereof) might...
Not a big fan of this analysis. It's a single data point each store from a single point in time in a single year. Seems like a big discount on an item or two (or coincidental lack thereof) might make a difference in some rankings.
Ultimately, it seems like generally the stores that are more complete have the highest prices, aside from slightly specialty stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods, which makes sense. More variety in items and range of quality, higher prices. Costco or Aldi may be cheap for some items, but I can't get all my grocery shopping done there and need to supplement with another grocery store. I usually go for a Chinese or Mexican grocery store or a discount grocery like Food4Less rather than something like Safeway though.
In my area of Texas, HEB is known for low prices compared to the other, regular supermarkets. There is one Costco, but it is an hour drive to get there for me. HEB store brand products are...
In my area of Texas, HEB is known for low prices compared to the other, regular supermarkets. There is one Costco, but it is an hour drive to get there for me.
HEB store brand products are generally good quality too, and I can't say that about Walmart. There are always exceptions, but I've had good luck with HEB products overall.
My biggest gripe with HEB is that they will stop carrying a product I buy with no warning. Sometimes it seems like they want to direct traffic towards alternatives under their brand, but other times, there's just no explanation.
I was a bit surprised to see HEB right next to Walmart but at least the prices are “lower.” Speaking of quality, I’d like to see what kind of quality were the products selected; this study may not...
I was a bit surprised to see HEB right next to Walmart but at least the prices are “lower.” Speaking of quality, I’d like to see what kind of quality were the products selected; this study may not be an apples to apples comparison. No pun intended.
It’s great to see Costco at the top of the affordability list but there’s no scenario where a small family or a household of two would benefit from buying in bulk.
Not always true, it's just not sensible for us to buy most produce or quick perishables in bulk. Paper plates, waffles, certain snacks, cheeses, salad mixes, garlic, toilet paper, cat litter and...
Not always true, it's just not sensible for us to buy most produce or quick perishables in bulk. Paper plates, waffles, certain snacks, cheeses, salad mixes, garlic, toilet paper, cat litter and food, etc. are all things where I can shop for a month or two (or basically annually in the case of TP) at a time. The items aren't perishable and I don't have to think about snacks for work, or dinners or the like. Especially with my partner being disabled and so packaged items are ideal. But we also have a vacuum sealer and will freeze meat or desserts if it makes sense.
Just the two of us here. We make back our difference in the executive membership costs in the cash back check and then some. Also helps for holiday shopping.
Something I'm surprised hasn't already been mentioned, but Costco also sells various gift cards for less than face value. Usually seems to be 10-20% cheaper, and in store I've also found some do...
Something I'm surprised hasn't already been mentioned, but Costco also sells various gift cards for less than face value. Usually seems to be 10-20% cheaper, and in store I've also found some do almost 25% less. Usually you will have to buy several cards, for example 2 $50 cards for $90. And at least at my local warehouse they have some for regional restaurants that aren't listed on the website.
My family of four growing up - one that clipped coupons, shopped at multiple stores for the best deals per item, and diligently avoided food waste - made great use of Costco. Stocking up on...
My family of four growing up - one that clipped coupons, shopped at multiple stores for the best deals per item, and diligently avoided food waste - made great use of Costco. Stocking up on pantry/shelf-stable, non-perishables, pre-frozen, and the many non-food items are the most obvious; those don't need to be "fresh" each week. Plenty of other perishables like meats freeze well, especially if you take them out of their original packaging, wrap in cling film, and pack in a freezer bag (we didn't have a vacuum sealer). Other perishables can be consumed if you plan your week's meals around them, or select only a few in a category each week (e.g. fruit this week is bananas and grapes, next week apples and strawberries, rather than a large variety in one week).
Not to mention the other well-priced services like optical and tires & auto.
Two-person household - we make use of Costco bulk perishables by batch-cooking and freezing a week or two's worth of meals at a time. We also run some produce through a dehydrator, or divide it...
Two-person household - we make use of Costco bulk perishables by batch-cooking and freezing a week or two's worth of meals at a time. We also run some produce through a dehydrator, or divide it into smaller portions and freeze it. Rotating frozen dishes provides enough variety. Dried/frozen fruit makes for healthier snacks, and dried/frozen veg can go into the batch cooking as needed.
This lets us avoid spending for restaurant meals or carryout when we're too tired or busy to cook on weeknights. Otherwise, the Costco price differential on non-perishables, automotive, optical, and pharmacy more than covers the membership fee and driving time (about 15-20 minutes in our case). Spouse often has the luxury of going to Costco on a weekday and avoiding the crowds.
Costco eggs and dairy are sold in large volumes, but we can usually go through a single purchase quickly enough that we don't have to worry about spoilage, or use up in a bulk recipe. There's only a relatively small list of items we buy elsewhere (farmer's markets in season, local bakeries, co-op, locally owned grocery chain and Latin/Asian stores, Aldi, Meijer, online for specialty ingredients, in that order). We do spend a chunk of the weekend hitting two or three grocery stops (and/or gardening) and cooking, but we generally enjoy it.
Their results do not at all match up with what I personally see when shopping, so I'm curious about what items they use as a base line, especially since many of the smaller stores on the list...
Their results do not at all match up with what I personally see when shopping, so I'm curious about what items they use as a base line, especially since many of the smaller stores on the list simply won't have some things (e.g. Aldi, Trader Joes, Whole Foods). I wish we could get some more details on their methodology.
I live in MN now, so most of the common grocery stores here aren't on the list, but I have done price comparisons where I used to live and Aldi was by far the cheapest, followed by the discount warehouse stores (Sam's Club and Costco) as a distant second, then Walmart. The problem was that from that cheap store list, only Walmart tended to have everything you need in one location. If you go to a big discount warehouse or Aldi, you still need to pick up the other things from another store which can be a big hassle for some people with little free time.
They referred to "major grocery retailers" in "six regionally-representative cities", so it's possible there weren't Sam's Clubs in all the cities they used? idk, I wish the article gave more info...
They referred to "major grocery retailers" in "six regionally-representative cities", so it's possible there weren't Sam's Clubs in all the cities they used? idk, I wish the article gave more info about their methodology in general.
Costco ranks higher in sales than Sam's Club, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were the only warehouse club on this list, but BJ's Wholesale Club is on there too and that makes it a much stranger omission imo.
Did they fold Sam's prices into the Walmart average, given their ownership? That would be my guess, but a strange choice nonetheless given they separate out Kroger and Albertsons brands.
Did they fold Sam's prices into the Walmart average, given their ownership? That would be my guess, but a strange choice nonetheless given they separate out Kroger and Albertsons brands.
Yeah I think it's more likely that they just overlooked including Sam's Club, since they separate out other brands owned by the same company. Very strange!
Yeah I think it's more likely that they just overlooked including Sam's Club, since they separate out other brands owned by the same company. Very strange!
Safeway and Albertsons are the same company and I perceive Albertsons to be a lower quality store, so I'm surprised to see that Albertsons is more expensive. That company is pushing their store...
Safeway and Albertsons are the same company and I perceive Albertsons to be a lower quality store, so I'm surprised to see that Albertsons is more expensive.
That company is pushing their store brand more and more, thrive stopped carrying brands I like in favor of those. It's not like Trader Joe's, most of their genetics that I have tried are terrible.
We've moved from shopping at Safeway weekly to once every 4-6 weeks, usually only when we have a prescription to pick up and can grab things not available elsewhere. That's been replaced by an ethnic market and the local restaurant supply store, both of which cost considerably less.
On the pro side for Safeway, their pharmacy pricing is fantastic and they always automatically apply coupons when insurance won't cover something. They also have the lowest cost gas in the area.
It's nice to see I'm not crazy in being annoyed at how few options we have for groceries in the Denver market vs most metro areas. We're down what, five+ options versus every other metro listed in...
It's nice to see I'm not crazy in being annoyed at how few options we have for groceries in the Denver market vs most metro areas. We're down what, five+ options versus every other metro listed in this CR article?
Aldi and WinCo can't get here soon enough.
I'm also surprised at the lack of Sprouts in this comparison, given Whole Foods' presence. Granted, given what my partner lets me know re: pricing changes there (he's a scan coordinator at one, so he gets to see all the pricing changes in every department week to week), they'd be at or near the bottom of the list anymore.
It's also funny to see the differences in chains in the same market owned by the same company. Harris Teeter is owned by Kroger, as are Food 4 Less, Marianos, King Soopers, and Ralphs. Vons and Tom Thumb are Albertsons. I'm actually surprised Albertsons is keeping both brands alive in other markets, as locally they converted their last remaining Albertsons stores to Safeway after their merger completed. At least in the Kroger case (outside Virginia Beach, as the Harris Teeter acquisition has always felt like a roundabout way to bust the union, as HT is not unionized across the board while some of the Kroger branded stores are), Food 4 Less is their 'value' brand, sort of like QFC vs. Fred Meyer in the PNW.
Food4Less is their value brand?! The last time I bought something from one of those stores was because I was in desperate need to get some whole wheat flour and they were the only store who had it...
Food4Less is their value brand?! The last time I bought something from one of those stores was because I was in desperate need to get some whole wheat flour and they were the only store who had it in the area I was in at the time. It cost about 3 times more than what I would usually pay!
It's all relative, but yes, Kroger positions it as a value brand. In markets where they don't have multiple brands, their stores are segmented into (at least for the division I've worked for)...
It's all relative, but yes, Kroger positions it as a value brand. In markets where they don't have multiple brands, their stores are segmented into (at least for the division I've worked for) value, mainstream, and upscale stores. (We also have a specific Hispanic segment for stores in heavily Latino neighborhoods, but that I imagine varies by market and division.) In markets where they have multiple brands, one ends up taking the value segment stores specifically (QFC/Food 4 Less).
QFC and Food 4 Less (in Chicago specifically) are unique as well as those were Kroger's only presence in those markets until they bought other chains up down the line (Fred Meyer in the PNW and Mariano's in Chicago) that were both more upmarket to begin with.
This didn’t tell me much that I didn’t already know, but I did learn some interesting tidbits. I stopped shopping for groceries at Walmart years ago because it was actually surprisingly expensive. The prices were about the same as, say, Albertson’s or Von’s. I know that they’ve done a lot to improve their grocery department in more recent years, though, so this is more of a factor of them being in a relatively inconvenient location for me now that there is better competition.
The choices of stores to represent seem a bit odd to me. For Southern California they include WinCo (a great company I wish more people knew about), but they only have a handful of locations in the region and none of them are near Central LA. They don’t include Smart & Final which has significantly more locations. With them excluded it seems ever so slightly unfair to include Costco who is playing a different game than the rest with their exclusively bulk-sized packaging, something that S&F at least partially tries to compete in with select bulk items in their stores.
I’ve said this a lot but here in SoCal the Asian markets have fresh products that are higher quality, freshness, and with better variety while generally having lower prices. The same is likely true at Hispanic grocers.
That's interesting! I wonder if this is a regional thing.
A Canadian finance site did a small, informal study in Ontario last year and found that Walmart was one of the cheapest places to buy groceries in the province:
Could also be item-specific:
What I didn't mention was that price was actually one of two reasons why I stopped shopping there. The other reason is because they sold shockingly poor quality produce. They would literally have wilted lettuce in the cooler shelves, and had more than one time I had to go through the customer service line because they sold it in packaging that hid the fact that it was already going bad. When Aldi opened a store close enough to go to regularly, that was the death knell for my visits to Wal Mart.
And no, it wasn't just one location, it was the nearby "Neighborhood Market" location as well as the two nearest Supercenters.
That being said, I did get some produce since then, when I was trying to get some durable goods, and was pleasantly surprised that they were pretty good.
Tbh I shop for groceries almost exclusively by proximity. In practice I just don’t eat enough food for going large distances away to save dollars on an item to change very much. There’s also a lot of other metrics I’m trying to optimize for in terms of food intake, like health. Or just choosing to cook at all.
Like, I could drive 30 minutes in normal traffic to get to Costco, so an hour round trip, so I can get eggs for $2, or I can go to the local incredibly overpriced supermarket that’s a 3 minute drive/ 10 minute walk and get eggs for $7/dozen, which is more than 3x the price but it takes me like two weeks to eat a dozen eggs, so would I rather spend $5 more to not have to drive for an hour? Kinda, yeah? If I eat out, it’s usually like $60-$80 so that’s a much bigger hit to the wallet anyway.
To be fair, these are major metropolitan areas, and so I think there's an assumption that you'll be able to get to an alternative option nearby without a huge difference in time. Where I live Costco locations are 30 minutes away from eachother, so you'll theoretically never be over 15 minutes away from one.
I always try to get the best value for everything, but realistically I like a bunch of weird ingredients so I end up going to a bunch of different stores to get all the things I need.
I was shocked to see Trader Joes so high up on that list. In my area their prices are consistently lower than Safeway. I'm going to do my own little investigation over the next few weeks and compare prices.
Also, good to see Costco coming in like an absolute champ. I love Costco.
Great share!
In my experience, Trader Joes is quite expensive compared to other stores I generally shop at. It is also always super busy, so it is really hard to justify ever going there personally.
Would love to see a follow-up from you if you collect some data!
My anecdotal experience is similar but the opposite. I haven’t shopped there in a while, but I did comparison shop it vs other supermarkets a few times. Its prices appeared lower, and I could get a larger variety of things for the same money. But the quantity of things was smaller. So the actual price per gram would be similar or more than other supermarkets. But when I was shopping for just one person, it was still worth it because of less food waste.
You should mention: In the US. Many of us don't live in the US.
OK, ok, no need to rub it in :)
Stealing this.
/noise
This tracks with my experience in Dallas. We do a lot of our shopping at Costco and Aldi's because they have some of the best value.
The price depends a lot per item. I don’t see a listing of the exact items that were purchased.
I generally like Costco but I don’t think that produce is less expensive at Costco than at Walmart. Also you often have to buy large quantities at Costco and it may go bad before you can use it all.
Also comparing Trader Joe’s, Costco, and even Aldi to supermarkets like Safeway is a little hard (for me) because I make trips to the smaller stores for specific items. For example I like Trader Joe’s peanut butter so I get that and maybe raw nuts there, but I don’t get much produce or dairy there.
Not a big fan of this analysis. It's a single data point each store from a single point in time in a single year. Seems like a big discount on an item or two (or coincidental lack thereof) might make a difference in some rankings.
Ultimately, it seems like generally the stores that are more complete have the highest prices, aside from slightly specialty stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods, which makes sense. More variety in items and range of quality, higher prices. Costco or Aldi may be cheap for some items, but I can't get all my grocery shopping done there and need to supplement with another grocery store. I usually go for a Chinese or Mexican grocery store or a discount grocery like Food4Less rather than something like Safeway though.
In my area of Texas, HEB is known for low prices compared to the other, regular supermarkets. There is one Costco, but it is an hour drive to get there for me.
HEB store brand products are generally good quality too, and I can't say that about Walmart. There are always exceptions, but I've had good luck with HEB products overall.
My biggest gripe with HEB is that they will stop carrying a product I buy with no warning. Sometimes it seems like they want to direct traffic towards alternatives under their brand, but other times, there's just no explanation.
I was a bit surprised to see HEB right next to Walmart but at least the prices are “lower.” Speaking of quality, I’d like to see what kind of quality were the products selected; this study may not be an apples to apples comparison. No pun intended.
It’s great to see Costco at the top of the affordability list but there’s no scenario where a small family or a household of two would benefit from buying in bulk.
Not always true, it's just not sensible for us to buy most produce or quick perishables in bulk. Paper plates, waffles, certain snacks, cheeses, salad mixes, garlic, toilet paper, cat litter and food, etc. are all things where I can shop for a month or two (or basically annually in the case of TP) at a time. The items aren't perishable and I don't have to think about snacks for work, or dinners or the like. Especially with my partner being disabled and so packaged items are ideal. But we also have a vacuum sealer and will freeze meat or desserts if it makes sense.
Just the two of us here. We make back our difference in the executive membership costs in the cash back check and then some. Also helps for holiday shopping.
Something I'm surprised hasn't already been mentioned, but Costco also sells various gift cards for less than face value. Usually seems to be 10-20% cheaper, and in store I've also found some do almost 25% less. Usually you will have to buy several cards, for example 2 $50 cards for $90. And at least at my local warehouse they have some for regional restaurants that aren't listed on the website.
My family of four growing up - one that clipped coupons, shopped at multiple stores for the best deals per item, and diligently avoided food waste - made great use of Costco. Stocking up on pantry/shelf-stable, non-perishables, pre-frozen, and the many non-food items are the most obvious; those don't need to be "fresh" each week. Plenty of other perishables like meats freeze well, especially if you take them out of their original packaging, wrap in cling film, and pack in a freezer bag (we didn't have a vacuum sealer). Other perishables can be consumed if you plan your week's meals around them, or select only a few in a category each week (e.g. fruit this week is bananas and grapes, next week apples and strawberries, rather than a large variety in one week).
Not to mention the other well-priced services like optical and tires & auto.
Two-person household - we make use of Costco bulk perishables by batch-cooking and freezing a week or two's worth of meals at a time. We also run some produce through a dehydrator, or divide it into smaller portions and freeze it. Rotating frozen dishes provides enough variety. Dried/frozen fruit makes for healthier snacks, and dried/frozen veg can go into the batch cooking as needed.
This lets us avoid spending for restaurant meals or carryout when we're too tired or busy to cook on weeknights. Otherwise, the Costco price differential on non-perishables, automotive, optical, and pharmacy more than covers the membership fee and driving time (about 15-20 minutes in our case). Spouse often has the luxury of going to Costco on a weekday and avoiding the crowds.
Costco eggs and dairy are sold in large volumes, but we can usually go through a single purchase quickly enough that we don't have to worry about spoilage, or use up in a bulk recipe. There's only a relatively small list of items we buy elsewhere (farmer's markets in season, local bakeries, co-op, locally owned grocery chain and Latin/Asian stores, Aldi, Meijer, online for specialty ingredients, in that order). We do spend a chunk of the weekend hitting two or three grocery stops (and/or gardening) and cooking, but we generally enjoy it.
Their results do not at all match up with what I personally see when shopping, so I'm curious about what items they use as a base line, especially since many of the smaller stores on the list simply won't have some things (e.g. Aldi, Trader Joes, Whole Foods). I wish we could get some more details on their methodology.
I live in MN now, so most of the common grocery stores here aren't on the list, but I have done price comparisons where I used to live and Aldi was by far the cheapest, followed by the discount warehouse stores (Sam's Club and Costco) as a distant second, then Walmart. The problem was that from that cheap store list, only Walmart tended to have everything you need in one location. If you go to a big discount warehouse or Aldi, you still need to pick up the other things from another store which can be a big hassle for some people with little free time.
Why include Costco but not Sam’s Club? Seems weird since they’re a major grocery retailer too.
They referred to "major grocery retailers" in "six regionally-representative cities", so it's possible there weren't Sam's Clubs in all the cities they used? idk, I wish the article gave more info about their methodology in general.
Costco ranks higher in sales than Sam's Club, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were the only warehouse club on this list, but BJ's Wholesale Club is on there too and that makes it a much stranger omission imo.
Did they fold Sam's prices into the Walmart average, given their ownership? That would be my guess, but a strange choice nonetheless given they separate out Kroger and Albertsons brands.
Yeah I think it's more likely that they just overlooked including Sam's Club, since they separate out other brands owned by the same company. Very strange!
Safeway and Albertsons are the same company and I perceive Albertsons to be a lower quality store, so I'm surprised to see that Albertsons is more expensive.
That company is pushing their store brand more and more, thrive stopped carrying brands I like in favor of those. It's not like Trader Joe's, most of their genetics that I have tried are terrible.
We've moved from shopping at Safeway weekly to once every 4-6 weeks, usually only when we have a prescription to pick up and can grab things not available elsewhere. That's been replaced by an ethnic market and the local restaurant supply store, both of which cost considerably less.
On the pro side for Safeway, their pharmacy pricing is fantastic and they always automatically apply coupons when insurance won't cover something. They also have the lowest cost gas in the area.
It's nice to see I'm not crazy in being annoyed at how few options we have for groceries in the Denver market vs most metro areas. We're down what, five+ options versus every other metro listed in this CR article?
Aldi and WinCo can't get here soon enough.
I'm also surprised at the lack of Sprouts in this comparison, given Whole Foods' presence. Granted, given what my partner lets me know re: pricing changes there (he's a scan coordinator at one, so he gets to see all the pricing changes in every department week to week), they'd be at or near the bottom of the list anymore.
It's also funny to see the differences in chains in the same market owned by the same company. Harris Teeter is owned by Kroger, as are Food 4 Less, Marianos, King Soopers, and Ralphs. Vons and Tom Thumb are Albertsons. I'm actually surprised Albertsons is keeping both brands alive in other markets, as locally they converted their last remaining Albertsons stores to Safeway after their merger completed. At least in the Kroger case (outside Virginia Beach, as the Harris Teeter acquisition has always felt like a roundabout way to bust the union, as HT is not unionized across the board while some of the Kroger branded stores are), Food 4 Less is their 'value' brand, sort of like QFC vs. Fred Meyer in the PNW.
Food4Less is their value brand?! The last time I bought something from one of those stores was because I was in desperate need to get some whole wheat flour and they were the only store who had it in the area I was in at the time. It cost about 3 times more than what I would usually pay!
It's all relative, but yes, Kroger positions it as a value brand. In markets where they don't have multiple brands, their stores are segmented into (at least for the division I've worked for) value, mainstream, and upscale stores. (We also have a specific Hispanic segment for stores in heavily Latino neighborhoods, but that I imagine varies by market and division.) In markets where they have multiple brands, one ends up taking the value segment stores specifically (QFC/Food 4 Less).
QFC and Food 4 Less (in Chicago specifically) are unique as well as those were Kroger's only presence in those markets until they bought other chains up down the line (Fred Meyer in the PNW and Mariano's in Chicago) that were both more upmarket to begin with.