This is the sixth in a continuing series of comparisons between local grocery store prices. Every six months or so since the spring of 2006 I’ve used my regular Sunday shopping trip to do my very non-scientific study of local grocery prices.
I began this to prove a theory I had. Readers may recall that in their 2006 session the Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Ehrlich’s 2005 veto of the Fair Share Health Care Act, which became better known as the “Wal-Mart bill.” The bill got its name because it was tailored to affect only Wal-Mart; the three other companies in Maryland who qualified based on their number of employees were exempted either for being a non-profit or spending just over the 8% of payroll threshold the state dictated companies should spend on health care benefits for their employees. My theory was that Wal-Mart would eventually lose its extremely competitive position on prices because of the state law, particularly since one of the companies exempted was Giant Foods, obviously a direct competitor for grocery dollars and, unlike Wal-Mart, a unionized grocery chain.
As it turned out, Fair Share was thrown out in court as a violation of federal ERISA statutes but I decided to continue doing this on a semi-annual basis because it’s a nice diversion from political items and also provides a service for local residents. It also serves as a gauge for grocery prices in general. In April I also added one variable, the per-gallon price at the station I drive by on the way to the grocery store. You’ll notice that the price went down 40 percent in six months, in reality it’s about half the mid-summer peak here which was close to $4 per gallon.
Having done this now for 2 1/2 years, it’s interesting to note that Wal-Mart has lost a portion of its onetime large advantage over its local competititors. They still own the lowest prices but have raised their prices somewhat faster than two of their three counterparts.
As I said at the top this is far from a scientific study, and the items I chose were those I regularly consumed at the time. Ironically I’ve stopped eating a fair number of these items because I’ve become much more weight-conscious in that timespan. (In the last three years, I’ve lost 115 pounds.) Still, it gives a snapshot of something that consumers have sensed for quite awhile – prices have gone up pretty quickly in that time. (You may also note that in some cases, the packaging has changed as well. I’m a frequent yogurt eater, so their going to 6 ounce cups really upset me!)
With that said, here are the most recent results I compiled yesterday. As a comparison, I’ll link to the results from last April, one year ago, April 2007, October 2006, and my original survey in April 2006.
The next trend to see is if the drop in gas prices will follow through into food prices next April. It’s not predicted to do so but I’ll be checking to see when the time comes.
