Bachelor on the Cheap

Where do you prefer to grocery shop? Aldi, Walmart, the mainstream grocery store?

Shoppers tend to be loyal to a particular store, we're creatures of habit after all. Some folks like Aldi because of the consistently low prices and name brands aren't a concern. Others favor Dillons because of the loyalty card and fuel points. Then there are those who do their regular grocery shopping at Walmart liking the one-stop shopping convenience for clothes, home & garden, and other general merchandise.

Here's this week's side-by-side Wichita Metro comparison of grocery store prices for Aldi, Walmart, and Dillon's (Kroger, a.k.a. the mainstream grocery store), plug in the name of the mainstream grocery store in your neck of the woods here, ie., Meijer, HyVee, Publix, Albertsons, etc. Odds are that mainstream is going to be the most expensive of the three from week to week.

Covering the basics with a focus on store brands, this week's list, dated October 9, 2023, is unchanged in item count from the previous Wichita Metro weekly essentials review for a total of 25 grocery products. There is one revision to the shopping list. Aldi has apparently dropped Kraft Singles from its lineup (not available in the last two reviews), so a comparison of store brand "Deluxe" cheese slices is now part of the routine list.

Of note, in a same-store comparison to the previous review of September 25, prices are up across the board. Aldi shoppers would have spent $2.34 more for the same items purchased two weeks ago. Dillons shoppers paid an additional $1.05, and Walmart shoppers spent $0.81 more.

Prices stated are online prices and for items available at the time of the review. Remember that the featured items are the store brand for each respective store unless otherwise labeled. Prices can vary from store to store, as store managers have the flexibility to adjust prices, lower or higher. Aldi does not have the flexibility of the other stores reviewed. Prices are good as of this writing and could change by the time you make that grocery run.

Aldi: 8011 E Kellogg Ave, Wichita, KS 67207
Dillons: 9450 E. Harry St., Wichita, KS 67207
Walmart: 11411 E Kellogg Dr, Wichita, KS 67207

Takeaways from this week's price review:

Aldi had the biggest jump in price vs. the last review but remains the lowest in online pricing of the three stores, it's consistent week over week. Keep in mind their online prices are higher than in-store prices, so you'll spend even less than what's listed when shopping in-store. Aldi uniquely does this to cover their employee cost of personal shopping for your delivery or pickup order. Check out the price for chicken. It's the same chicken as the other stores, Tyson does the private labeling for Aldi under the Kirkwood brand. Also of note, Aldi has the cheapest price for bacon, more than $1 less per pound vs. Dillons and Walmart store brands.
The Dillons online pricing is the same as in-store. Dillons is always the highest-priced grocer overall but was actually quite competitive in pricing this week. The price gap in this review, Dillons vs. Aldi was $4.76. In the previous review, that gap was $5.90. The price gap with Walmart was just $1.05. Dillons shoppers would probably make up most of gap vs Aldi with loyalty card savings and fuel points and would probably come out ahead vs. Walmart. If you're curious about how the Dillons loyalty card plays a role, check out the related article link, "Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillon's (Kroger) vs. Aldi. Of note and for the second review in a row, Dillons has the lowest price for lunch meat, canola oil, and eggs (store brand) this week. Dillons is doing a buy one get one free on Tyson chicken this week, but don't be fooled, you're still paying more per pound for it vs the other stores (average package price is $9.48 for three breasts).
The Walmart online pricing is the same as for in-store. Walmart consistently finishes second in overall price from week to week, but check out the higher prices for bacon, bananas, and wheat bread.
Name brand product comparison: This week's name brand comparison features two items, corn flakes and ketchup. We'll do corn flakes first. Regular readers know I'm typically not a name brand buyer, 8 times out of 10, a store brand is every bit as good as a name brand and costs a lot less. This holds true for corn flakes. Don't pay for marketing. Kellogg's Corn Flakes at Walmart will cost you$4.98 for the same size box, 18 ounces. Compare that price to Walmart's Great Value brand at $2.24. You save $2.74 over the name brand! But check out how much Dillons gouges you, that 18-ounce box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes costs a whopping $7.49, and yes, I double-checked that price. Ouch! $7.49 for a box of cereal? Buying Dillons Kroger brand saves you $5.20. On the ketchup front, I compared store brands with Heinz, a go-to for many folks. A 38-ounce bottle of Heinz ketchup at Dillons will cost you $4.49. The Dillons Kroger brand is $1.99, a savings of $2.50. Heinz at Walmart cost $4.48 this week. Walmart's Great Value costs $1.87, a savings of $2.61. On just those two items, the cereal and ketchup, you save a total of $7.70 at Dillons by buying the store brand vs. name brand. At Walmart the name brand vs. store brand savings totals $5.35. I challenge you to find a distinguishable difference in the corn flakes that justifies the much higher name-brand price. A ketchup battle is pending.

Don't see some essential items that you think should be on the list? Please comment.

$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike

Related: Grocery Stores in Wichita

Posted at 07:21 PM in Wichita Metro, Grocery Store Prices | Permalink | Comments (0)