Have you ever done a serious price comparison exercise between grocery stores?

[la mamita]

I'm moving out to the country, living on my own for the first time in the US, and since going into town will be a bigger trip and I have a tight budget, I want to make sure I'm getting the best deals on my grocery budget. I like to do a once-per-week grocery shop and be done with it.

I'm thinking about doing a test-shop at a few of the area grocery stores (we have Trader Joes, a natural food co-op, Meijers, Krogers all in a nearby city, and another non-chain grocery in the nearest town), going into the store with a list of staples that I usually buy and checking prices on organic, local and non-organic/non-local options to help pick a "favorite" grocery store. I think this will also give me a sense of what products I am willing to pay extra for (organic and local) and what products I am willing to be thrifty with, because I can read ingredients at each one.

Has anyone else ever done this? What was your methodology? What were your results?

[seashells]

I've done it. There were only two stores we were looking at. We shopped at one but started wondering if the other was cheaper. We kept the receipt from the last shop we did at Store A and then did a shop at Store B the next week. I made a spreadsheet comparing all the common items. Then, I sent DH back to Store A to just write down the prices of some remaining staples we frequently got, and next time we went to Store B I checked against the list. We found that Store B was definitely a better deal. There were only a couple items that were higher priced, and the difference for those items were very marginal (not even worth doing 2 shops).

If Excel isn't your thing, I guess I'd write up a sheet of paper with three columns - column 1 is a list of staples. Column 2 is Store A and Column 3 is Store B. I didn't think it took longer than maybe 15 minutes to record the prices of the items when we were not actually shopping, and when we were actually shopping, it was easier to just keep the receipt rather than fill in the sheet on site.

[Ruthiegirl]

Yes, I have done this very thing.  

We have a limited diet due to food issues.  So, I generally buy the same foods, same brands week after week.  I made a price list of my 3 local stores (now 2 since one closed down) and compared price per pound or ounce.  I have 3 stores 20 miles away and a Trader Joe's 50 miles away.  I compared costs on an Excel spread sheet even factoring gas.  

We were insanely broke at the time and skirting some major money issues and this was away for me to keep a tight hold on our budget and have a little entertainment.  Yes, budgets were my entertainment.   It became clear that the nicer of the stores was charging 20-30% more for the same items, sometimes the exact same brands, in exchange for the privilege to shop in a more pleasing store -- brighter, wider aisles, more accommodating cashiers.  The budget store was certainly the better value.  

And keeping a detailed log is very helpful.  I know it seems a bit compulsive, but it really does help to know the price per ounce.  It helps me from feeling that I am getting a good deal when maybe I am not.  Just because a label says 'Value Size'  doesn't really mean that it is a good value.  Do the math first and trust your own numbers.

[zebra15]

Yes, I've done that in the past but as PP said I kinda know my price limit now.  Plus I'm a serious coupon person.  I love the Kroger chain (around here they double coupons, take competitor coupons and basically pay me to shop there)

[ChristyMarie]

Yep.  When I decided to get serious about stockpiling and buying in bulk for sales I wanted to know at what price it was worth it to buy 20 jars of marinara sauce.  I made a list of things I usually buy with two prices for columns (I really only shop at 2 stores) and just checked them all the next time I had an alone, child free shopping trip.  I referred to it a few times but honestly, just the act of looking and writing it down got me to realize what was and wasn't a good price.

[heatherdeg]

I kept a full-blown price book for years.  I need to go back to it.  I know my limit price for specific items but it's all those "once in a whiles" that I can't keep track of that make the price book handy.

I was stunned to find that Costco is not always as cheap as the grocery store sales; and that sometimes, for some things, CVS or Target IS actually cheaper.  I kept it for 11 years!  You could start with the stuff you use most often (your "top 20") and just add on to it.

[la mamita]

Thanks!! This has all been great advice. I started on a whim yesterday armed with my list of frequently purchased items at the local country grocery store, wrote down a bunch of prices, and now I am off to create a spreadsheet and do a few more 'test' shops. We have a lot of grocery stores in the area! I'm not as concerned about those items that I buy once a month to use in a special dish or pantry items like baking powder, etc, more concerned about the weekly purchases like milk, yogurt, cheese, veggies....