Over the last year, I’ve done what I’ve made a semi-annual pilgrimage to the local grocery stores to compare prices as I do my regular shopping. Last April and last November I posted the results.
So last Sunday (the 29th) I did this again and what I found were some interesting trends. Wal-Mart remains the overall leader, but its lead has shrunk by quite a bit. While their prices increased 5.6% over the one-year period, its competitors have apparently adopted a more aggressive pricing and sale pattern to close the gap. Super Fresh in particular racked up a huge difference and jumped from the most expensive store in both my previous surveys to number 2 behind Wal-Mart. Food Lion fell to third and now Giant brings up the rear – however, the total difference has dropped to a factor of about 20%.
Just looking at it from a perspective of a normal shopper, Wal-Mart has earned a reputation of coming into a market with a very low price point in order to draw business, then slowly increasing the prices over time and lessening their advantage over the competition (making a better return in the process.) And that appears to be the case here.
Another factor in the spread is the changes within the chains and stores themselves. The Fruitland Wal-Mart (which is where I generally shop) is beginning the process of remodeling the store, so that may affect their bottom line the next time and make the gap even smaller. Meanwhile, Food Lion remodeled their Route 50 store (my store) last year and Giant closed the North Pointe store, which should’ve helped their local bottom line by closing that unprofitable location. Only Super Fresh has left their local store essentially unchanged over the last year and that may have helped matters, along with a better pricing strategy from parent company A & P.
If you’d like the see the list for yourself, a .pdf file can be found here. The April 2006 list is here and the list from last November here.
It looks to me like Walmart south is just laying the floor plan out to be more like the Walmart north. I like that idea. Before my Mom pasted away I used to take her to the north store, of course I did my shopping while we were there, however being a south shopper everything was out-of-place to me. So I like the rearrangement. Going into one Walmart will be more like going into any Walmart.
Being single I have always done my own shopping. I can say that when Giant has deep sales the prices can’t be beat, some are at cost to draw you into the store. If you stick to the sale items you will do fine, if you buy a few impulse items you will blow everything you saved on sale items. When they sell huge sea scallops for $4.99 to $5.99 a pound that is a price even restaurants would like to get from their own wholesalers. I won’t buy steaks at Walmart, they just don’t make the cut. Ground beef is ground beef and a Perdue chicken is a Perdue chicken. As long as I can remember, a huge cut up Perdue chicken at Walmart was a flat $3.81 the everyday price, recently they have jumped to $4.69, as with most things fuel surcharges have affected most prices. Giant does offer many gourmet items you can’t find in most stores, if I want a good steak that is where I would purchase a good Black Angus cut, they also have Buffalo burger everyday now, lean and tastey, good in chili also.
Walmart’s breyers ice cream is an everyday $2.88 a half gallon. This week Food Lion had Breyers on sale for $5.19 a half gallon, buy one get one free, that made it a little less than Walmart’s everyday price. Giant’s everyday price for Breyers half gallon ice cream is $5.99. That’s why when shopping it is a good idea to take a cooler with ice if you are going to hop shop. Walmart south, Food Lion on Snowhill road and Super Giant are fairly close to each other, throw in Super Fresh and you can wheel and deal if you plan ahead by only buying what is on sale at the higher priced stores without going out of your way and spending your savings on gasoline.