Bachelor on the Cheap

Grocery Store Prices - Super Bowl 2024 Party Prep Edition

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This week's side-by-side grocery store price comparison was done with putting together a plan for a Super Bowl watch party in mind.

So instead of pricing the basic essentials, I priced out some items for game day eats!  

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

Here's this week's side-by-side comparison of grocery store prices, a snapshot if you will of Super Bowl shopping:  

Takeaways from this week's price review:

• Aldi is the cheapest place to Super Bowl party food shop.    For the 28 items reviewed, Aldi was $10.01 cheaper than Walmart and a whopping $16.17 cheaper than Dillons.  Caveats:  Aldi only sells limes in a one-pound bag, driving up their overall cartload price.  The limes themselves are on the small side as well.  How many limes you'll need depends on the size of your party and what you're serving.  How much guacamole are you making?  Aldi was the cheapest overall for meats, significantly so for sirloin steak (think garlic butter steak bites).   
• Dillons continues to be the most expensive place to grocery shop on a week-to-week basis even WITH the use of their loyalty card, Super Bowl or no.   Check out the related article link, "Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillons (Kroger) vs. Aldi.   There's A LOT of red in their column  (Pssst....  they inflate prices and discount 'select' items on that loyalty card use based on shopping behavior to make you think you got a few good deals).  Look at how much more they charge shoppers for a 2-liter bottle of Coke, chicken wings, and Genoa salami. Don't get me wrong, Dillons does put some good deals out there now and then, but in general, those deals only save you if that's all you're buying.  Cart for cart, Dillons remains the most expensive place to grocery shop, even with the 'deals.'  Bottom line, you're NOT going to make up the $16+ price gap vs. Aldi with loyalty card, digital coupon, or fuel point savings.  Notable:  Dillons has the best price for pork sausage and the best price per ounce for Mozzarella sticks.
• Walmart is rumored to be scrapping self-checkout in the near future.  Self-checkout has frustrated customers and led to a rise in retail crime (think shoppers intentionally not ringing up an item, or ringing up a steak using a produce bar code).  Notable budget buy:  Walmart offers an alternative to Velveeta cheese, Great Value Melt'n Dip, also a 32-ounce package for $5.28.
• It's cheaper to Super Bowl Watch Party shop this year.  Prices last year were slightly higher, ringing in at $74.56 for Aldi, $82.76 for Dillons, and $79.10 for Walmart and those figures do NOT include the Velveeta cheese, which was not on the shopping list in 2023. 

Don't see some Super Bowl items that you think should be on the list?  Send me an email.

Super Bowl Related:  Game Day Recipe Ideas from BachelorontheCheap.com

Get the chips & guac ready...

$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike

Related: Grocery Stores in Wichita

Related: Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillon's (Kroger) vs. Aldi

Related: Food Review: Great Value bacon not such a great value

Grocery Store Prices, comparing Aldi, Dillons, Walmart in Wichita - 01/03/2024

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 January 3, 2024, is unchanged in item count from the previous Wichita Metro weekly essentials review for a total of 25 grocery products.  

Of note, in a same-store comparison to the previous review of December 4, 2023, prices are mixed.  Aldi shoppers would have spent $2.02 more for the same items purchased a month ago.  Dillons shoppers paid $0.03 less, and Walmart shoppers spent $1.77 more with this shop.  In a year-over-year comparison, the average price for a cartload of groceries is up 3 percent, and keep in mind, that January 2023 was a time when egg prices averaged $4.99 per dozen in the Wichita area.  

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:

• No change from 2023, Aldi 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 a 10-pound bag of russet potatoes, a savings of more than $1 vs. the other stores.  
• The Dillons online pricing is the same as in-store.  Dillons is always the highest-priced grocer overall from week to week.  The price gap in this grocery shop, Dillons vs. Aldi was $6.38.   The Dillons price gap with Walmart was $5.50.  Dillons shoppers probably won't make up the gap with loyalty card savings and fuel points vs. Aldi, but will come close 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, Dillons has nothing noteworthy when it comes to lowest price with just ONE item, canola oil winning in lowest price.  Look at all the red in the Dillons price column, it's a clear display of how they can 'afford' to give you those loyalty card and fuel point discounts, they jack up their prices!  
• The Walmart online pricing is the same as for in-store.   Walmart consistently finishes second in overall price from week to week and in this review, they have the best prices for chicken broth, eggs, milk, and ground beef. 
• Egg prices back on the rise:  Egg prices are up at all stores which have been trending that way since June.  June 2023 prices for a dozen eggs were $1.06 at Aldi, $1.39 at Dillons, and $1.14 at Walmart, respectively, an overall increase of about 40 percent.

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

$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike

Related:  A cereal battle - Corn Flakes vs. Corn Flakes: Kellogg's vs. store brand vs. discount brand

Related: Grocery Stores in Wichita

Related: Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillon's (Kroger) vs. Aldi

Related: Food Review: Great Value bacon not such a great value