Is Walmart really less expensive?

[fe2o3ez]

Hey All,

I need your help on something. My in-laws keep telling me about how much less-expensive it is to shop at Walmart vs. the regular grocery (such as Publix, Kroger, etc.). They pick up things occasionally - milk, chips - and rave about the prices, but I normally get all my shopping done in one place, and go there out of convenience, location and the fact that I just know where everything is located in the store.

Have any of you done a personal comparison to see how it falls out? I normally love to do comparison shopping, but I havent had the time to spend 2 hours in Walmart writing down prices against a full list of groceries.

Let me know!

[gostumpy]

I did go to walmart to get a few things on sale before after shopping at my usual grocery store... and was surprised to see I could have saved ~$8 or so if i did my shopping at Walmart... not nothing, but not a huge difference either...

On some items, absolutely it's cheaper.

Others, it's the same.

Mostly, it's the same price or barely cheaper for inferior products

[phantom]

My experience is that prices at Walmart tend to be within a few cents of the best sale prices at my favorite grocery store (Giant Eagle). My husband works near a Walmart with a full grocery store and sometimes picks things up there during his lunch. But, the Walmart near our house does not have much selection. So, we prefer to do most of our grocery shopping at the grocery store and just wait for the sales.

[bjl584]

It really depends what you are shopping for.

A lot of people like the convenience of having everything in one store (groceries plus clothing and hardlines items.) It saves you from running to different stores.

But, I find that a lot of the household items that I buy like cleaners, soaps, detergents, and paper products are cheaper at the dollar stores.

[sblatner]

We shopped at Target yesterday and were amazed at how cheap some of the groceries are. We bought 20 boxes of cereal and saved at least $1 per box, sometimes $2 or more. I think they have their groceries at loss leaders hoping you will buy other merchandise on your way to the check out stand. I wonder if WalMart does the same thing.

[bjl584]

We shopped at Target yesterday and were amazed at how cheap some of the groceries are. We bought 20 boxes of cereal and saved at least $1 per box, sometimes $2 or more. I think they have their groceries at loss leaders hoping you will buy other merchandise on your way to the check out stand. I wonder if WalMart does the same thing.

Absolutley.

The money is in clothing and hardlines items like electronics. Profit margins in groceries are 1% to 2% on most items. High volume is often the only way to stay profitable.

[MonkeyMama]

We personally don't find WalMart groceries to be cheaper. There may be *some* cheaper items, but the inconvenience of going to WM also is factored. We've shopped there on ocassion, but never since we got a Target grocery store.

We do buy about 20% of our groceries at Target - VERY good prices. Generic cereal, non-generic granola bars, cat food, laundry detergent, etc. are the biggies that we buy. (I would not buy their meat or produce - our local grocer has these items much more fresh and maybe even cheaper). What I mostly notice is they carry more in bulk. All the grocery stores in our area stopped carrying anything more bulk (anything we buy) in the past several years.

To be fair- I just throw all household/pet items in our "grocery budget" and a lot of the stuff we buy at Target is the non-grocery stuff. Maybe only 5%-10% of our "groceries" are bought @ Target. They've got enough loss leaders to make it a worthwhile trip, but not enough to do most our grocery shopping there.

[disneysteve]

On some items, absolutely it's cheaper.

Others, it's the same.

Mostly, it's the same price or barely cheaper for inferior products

I agree that some items are cheaper, some are not.
I disagree about "inferior products" as WalMart sells the same name brand items as every other store. I assume that you are referring to store brand items with your comment in which case it really depends. There are WalMart brand items that we buy, and even ones that we actually prefer over the name brands.

My experience is that prices at Walmart tend to be within a few cents of the best sale prices at my favorite grocery store

I have seen examples of this. The advantage to WalMart is not having to wait for a sale.

It really depends what you are shopping for.

True.

I don't know the exact numbers but we buy a lot of frozen fruit to make smoothies, a favorite in our house. I had been buying the store brand at Wegmans until I discovered the store brand at WalMart was a fair amount cheaper (like 15-20%) and just as good. Then I found another brand (not WalMart's own) that was cheaper still and bought that last time I was there.

My wife and I like Healthy Choice frozen meals for lunch at work sometimes. They are $2.49 at the supermarket and sometimes go on sale for $2.00. At WalMart, they are $1.79 all the time. We won't make a special trip just for that but will stock up when we're there. We've found several other items that we buy regularly that are also cheaper there so we buy those when we are there.

[LuckyRobin]

I've found that things that tend to be cheapest at WalMart are junk foods or highly processed foods, like soda pop and chips, or canned goods like soup or ravioli, and the junky cereals, flavored crackers, TV dinners or frozen pizzas. When it comes to whole foods like meat and fruits and vegetables, they certainly don't beat the stores I shop at.

[jpg7n16]

Couple of thoughts:
Target Cheaper Than Wal-Mart as Gap Widest in Two Years - Bloomberg

And then there's the 5% back offer on the Target card.

Also see: Compare Prices at Walmart and See for Yourself How Much You Could Save


I know from my own experience that the WalMart has better prices at the register. Sometimes I don't go there to avoid the lines, but it's more expensive not to. There's not a Target close enough to me, or I'd go there for sure.

[Fast_Eddie26]

I have found Publix to be cheap with all the 2 for 1 sales they have. Seems if you are able to stock up on these items you can save good money. Plus, at least the one here is accepting competitor's coupons.

I think I need to start going to the farmer's market though to save on fruits.

[cooliemae]

The answer to this question really depends on where your at. I live in northern Wisconsin and Walmart prices are definitely the best prices out there on top of that their price match policy allows my wife and I to do most of our shopping at one place and still get the deals from the local stores. There are certain products that Walmart doesn't are carry, but overall I would say that Walmart does have the best prices.

Some have posted that the prices are only a few pennies cheaper, but those pennies add up over the course of the year(s)!

[marvholly]

I live in an area without the SUPER (full grocery) Target or Walmart. I shop mostly independent stores for WAAAY better prices.

I am supposed to be getting a Super Walmart nearby in 2013 or early 2014. I will do a comparison then BUT I doubt they can beat the dollar stores and Aldi.

[SavingSweetOneL]

I live in "Walmart Country".

I tend to shop my local natural co-op for my groceries, cause I can buy in bulk, and it supports a store with the same values as mine.

I ocassionaly shop at Walmart, mostly for shoes, clothes, and sometimes other items, which only Walmart has.

I find that I always have to traverse the store, to find what I want, no matter where I have parked. I rarely shop for groceries there.

I tend to shop dollar stores, Walgreens,and a local grocery chain for household products that I don't buy from the co-op. These stores tend to be directly on my travel routes, (including the co-op.), compared to the Walmart.

If I am a bit stressed while shopping, the flicker of the Walmart lights and the constant "Beep,Beep" sound of the register can be disturbing to me.

However, on more than one occasion I have been grateful for the 24 hour Walmart being open late at night/early morning.

So. my experiences with Walmart.

I suggest shop, and compare your savings and prices,(price book), and rate your experience with shopping as well. And, bring in your coupons.

SweetOneL

[reedda]

I did a lot better at the grocery stores when I shopped the sales and used coupons religiously. It takes time, discipline and SPACE to do it this way (stockpiling), but it helped a lot when my SO lost his job and was unemployed for more than a year.

Lately, milk prices at Walmart have been much higher than on-sale at the grocery store. Walmart milk has been ~3.30 / gallon while the grocery stores have been carrying it for sometimes as low as 1.97. Usually one of the three grocery store chains here have it on sale. It's worth looking at the weekly grocery store ads at least to see what they have on sale then when you go to Walmart, check the prices of those items. Or take the ads with you, I think Walmart will match prices then you're still doing one-stop shopping...

But personally, I really hate shopping at Walmart. We go anyway because there are some things I just can't find cheaper elsewhere (shampoo, cleaning supplies...).

I haven't checked out Target for groceries though, I'll have to do that. I just never think of it.