3 ms·

This seemed like an extraordinary claim to me, so I tracked down an analysis by Consumer Checkbook for the Boston area. The basket of goods they examined cost

This seemed like an extraordinary claim to me, so I tracked down an analysis by Consumer Checkbook for the Boston area. The basket of goods they examined cost over 20% more at Whole Foods than at e.g. Stop and Shop, and over 50% more than at Market Basket. https://www.checkbook.org/boston-area/supermarkets/articles/Which-Grocery-Stores-Offer-the-Best-Prices-and-Quality-2057 https://www.checkbook.org/boston-area/supermarkets/articles/...

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
For the chains I am familiar with those results line up exactly with my preexisting impression of those stores as far as cost goes. Walmart has staples dirt cheap but a much more limited selection. Market Basket has "proper grocery store selection" and can match Walmart in prices except for the things that really lend themselves to discounts for buying in bulk (like those big boxes of eggs) which they simply don't sell. Hannaford and Price Chopper make up the part of the curve leading to the mid range which is occupied by Stop and Shop, Shaws/Star, etc. and then at the top of the price distribution is all the stores I try to avoid at all costs. They mention large variation of prices between stores of the same chain. I strongly suspect that this correlates with how wealthy the community the store is located in is (which leads to increased cost to run the store). Where I live Aldi is the high priced upscale store. Where my parents live Stop and Shop is the high priced upscale store and Shaws/Star Market is generally cheaper. The fact that Walmart ranked poorly does not surprise me. There are no good Walmarts in the Boston area. Walmart doesn't throw a lot of grocery effort into stores with lots of local competition. The one near me is really good. The one in Quincy is laughably bad. Tewksbury is good but I'm not sure if they consider that "the Boston area".

dsfyu404ed 7y ago

For the chains I am familiar with those results line up exactly with my preexisting impression of those stores as far as cost goes. Walmart has staples dirt cheap but a much more limited selection. Market Basket has "proper grocery store selection" and can match Walmart in prices except for the things that really lend themselves to discounts for buying in bulk (like those big boxes of eggs) which they simply don't sell. Hannaford and Price Chopper make up the part of the curve leading to the mid range which is occupied by Stop and Shop, Shaws/Star, etc. and then at the top of the price distribution is all the stores I try to avoid at all costs. They mention large variation of prices between stores of the same chain. I strongly suspect that this correlates with how wealthy the community the store is located in is (which leads to increased cost to run the store). Where I live Aldi is the high priced upscale store. Where my parents live Stop and Shop is the high priced upscale store and Shaws/Star Market is generally cheaper. The fact that Walmart ranked poorly does not surprise me. There are no good Walmarts in the Boston area. Walmart doesn't throw a lot of grocery effort into stores with lots of local competition. The one near me is really good. The one in Quincy is laughably bad. Tewksbury is good but I'm not sure if they consider that "the Boston area".