LOUISVILLE (WAVE) - Costly grocery prices may have you shopping at one place over another. But do you really know where to find the cheapest items when it comes go grocery staples? Just in the last year grocery prices went up 6% according to government statistics.
"We'll even drive to further grocery stores if we know we have better prices," says one shopper.
But you don't just have to drive to another supermarket. You can try a discount store like Target or Walmart or even a drug store like CVS. All are offering groceries, but can these new grocery destinations save you any money?
"I go to the store a hundred, 150 dollars. It's two, three bags."
So we decided to find out if our presumptions about the cost of groceries are correct. Is food most expensive at convenience stores, drug stores, and specialty groceries? are groceries cheapest at discount stores and big grocery chains?
We put together a simple list of simple staples: eggs coffee, milk, soup, mac-n-cheese, butter, cheerios, bread, bacon, laundry detergent, and bananas. We went to a traditional grocery store, Walmart, CVS, Target, Whole Foods, and a convenience store; shopped on the same day and bought the same brands when possible and same sizes; and we bought on sale when possible.
Most of the high prices were at the convenience store. Most of the low prices were at Walmart. But there were some big surprises.
For example: a dozen eggs, the most expensive place we bought them was at the grocery store for $2.59. The same day at Target, a dozen large eggs sold for$1.89.
A gallon of whole milk was most expensive at CVS for $4.29, and the cheapest was at Whole Foods $3.49.
Another surprise? A can of condensed chicken noodle soup. You might expect the highest price would be $1.79 at the convenience store, but Walmart was charging $1.25 for that can the same day, and the grocery store had it on sale for 50 cents.
When it came to a pound of butter, steer away from the convenience store where it sold for $4.99. It was cheapest at Walmart for $2.99, but it was just one penny more, $2.99 at Whole Foods.
And there was a big difference in the price of Cheerios. If you grabbed a 14 ounce box at Whole Foods you'd pay the high price of $4.09. Who had it the cheapest the day we shopped? CVS which charged $2.75 for the same box of Cheerios.
So the key top finding the best prices seems to be: shop around.
Copyright WAVE 2011. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WAVE, a Raycom Media Station. 