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Sunday, May 24, 2009
Here’s the Deal: Grocery stores Round 2; Kroger readers’ pick
As part of last Sunday’s Here’s the Deal column, I compared six area grocery stores known for their low prices — Meijer, Cub Foods, Dot’s Market, Walmart, Kroger and Sam’s Club.
Looking at the actual prices of the items at the store, with some on sale and some not, Sam’s came out as cheapest (if you are willing to buy in bulk), and Kroger came out the most expensive — although the price differences were not budget-busters.
Also with that column, I posted a poll on our Web site asking readers to vote on what they considered to be their favorite grocery store.
The store in the lead? Kroger — by a country mile.
As of midweek, Kroger had received 224 votes, while the closest runner-up, Meijer, had earned just 77.
Most fans cited the store’s produce, meat, store brands and helpful employees for the reason they shopped at Kroger. Some said they still thought the price was right at Kroger when you factor in double coupons and the store’s rewards programs.
Other readers wanted me to take a closer look at some stores that were not featured, such as Dorothy Lane Market, Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s, Save-A-Lot, Fulmer, Groceryland and even the Commissary at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Some of these had been left out of last week’s story because they did not carry all of the brands that were being compared, while others were omitted (mistakenly, by me) because their emphasis is more on food quality than prices.
What I found was these stores naturally grouped themselves in pairs, with the Commissary, being a special case, on its own.
The big question comes down to: How much do brand names mean to you?
Dorothy Lane/Trader Joe’s
Both of these stores pride themselves, justifiably, in having more healthy options. For instance, they both have a large selection of hormone-free and organic options in meat, dairy and produce, as well as other items, with Trader Joe’s leading that charge.
Dorothy Lane carries more mainstream brand choices, whereas Trader Joe’s sells most of its own store brand. Trader Joe’s brand of Oreos are called Joe Joe’s and their Cheerios equivalent are Joe’s O’s.
Quite notably, even the more expensive hormone-free beef and organic bread, Trader Joe’s was cheaper than all the stores from last week, although it doesn’t sell American cheese and had very few name brands.
And, even with the expensive beef and brand names, Dorothy Lane’s prices (with card) came out cheaper than the prices at Kroger and Dot’s Market, as noted last week.
Aldi’s/Save-A-Lot
If you don’t care about brand names and are looking for the biggest bargain, these are the stores for you.
Aldi’s had the lowest overall prices of all the stores in this survey, but it has none of the name brands on the initial list.
Save-A-Lot has a smattering of name brands, and had the second lowest prices overall. Another notable nugget about Save-A-Lot is that it recently switched from carrying Coke products to carrying Pepsi products.
Shoppers can still get Coke while supplies last, but after that the stores will only carry Pepsi.
These stores also have the most limited selection of brands of those in the survey.
Fulmer/Groceryland
These markets have a selection comparable to the big chains and generally cheaper prices, with Groceryland coming in less expensive than Fulmer.
What these stores offer, according to one Fulmer associate, is a personal touch.
“We have to know everybody’s name,” she said. “That’s what we can offer to compete with big stores like Kroger.”
Furthering that hometown feel, both stores had aisle names matching area streets, such as Broad Street, Detroit Street or Dayton Drive.
Commissary
The Commissary has most brand names and sells them at good prices.
Even though it is only open to certain military personnel, I thought was important to include for those who have that option and are trying to decide where to shop.
To sum up
After comparing 13 Dayton-area stores in the last two weeks, using a standard grocery list of products, I learned a great deal — brand names really do bump up the cost, buying in bulk isn’t always the best deal and even stores that are tops in food quality can have great prices.
The grocery items included a pound of ground chuck (or hormone-free beef at Dorothy Land and Trader Joe’s), a gallon of milk, 18-ounce package of Oreos (or closest brand), 14-ounce box of Cheerios (or closest brand), 18-pound bag of Purina One Dog Food (or closest brand), 70-ounce Tide detergent (or closest brand), dozen eggs, loaf of Wonder Classic white bread (or closest brand), 16-slice pack of Kraft American Cheese (or closest brand), 12-pack of Coke (or closest brand).
Here is a final snapshot of each week’s results and findings, separated to reflect that week of savings. Last week Sam’s Club: $39.34; nearly everything has to be purchased in bulk, brand names.
Walmart: $43.58; good prices, comprehensive selection, brand names, store can be overwhelming.
Meijer: $45.48; like Walmart, not as daunting.
Cub Foods: $47.91; decent prices, easy store to navigate, brand names.
Dot’s Market: $51.42; OK prices, good selection.
Kroger: $52.97; OK prices, great selection, fan favorite.
This week
Aldi’s: $21.43; cheapest overall, no brand names, limited selection.
Save-A-Lot: $29.94; some brand names, limited selection.
Commissary: $32.61; cheapest of those with brand names.
Trader Joe’s: $35.68 (without the cheese); many organic options, few brand names.
Groceryland: $38.67; brand names, good prices, personal touch.
Fulmer: $46.56; decent prices, good selection, brand names, personal touch.
Dorothy Lane: $48.91; decent prices, great choices in food quality.
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