Local 2 Investigates is looking out for your bottom line at the grocery store. Tonight at 10, we compared prices of the 5 largest grocery store chains in our area: Wal-mart, Target, Randall’s H-E-B and Kroger.
When we contacted each store for their response to what we found, most sent us information on how you can save by shopping their stores. Keep reading to find out how to stretch your dollar depending on where you shop.
With regard to the pricing story you are working on, our retail prices are a function of the cost of the product from the manufacture. In terms of the price comparison, we believe your sample is too small. When we do price comparisons of our competitors we look at least 200 products to get an accurate view of total pricing.
Lastly Kroger has a large variety of the Kroger Brand product. This product is as good as or better than the national brand at a lower retail price.
We are seeing that many customers have switched to the Kroger Brand to save money. In regard to the increase in retail, there is no doubt we have experienced food inflation. This was a factor of a number of things including the economy, fuel prices, increased world demand, etc. Kroger through its extensive buying capabilities works hard to keep inflation to a minimum.
Kroger triples manufacturer’s coupons up to 35 cents and doubles coupons up to 50 cents.
A service of AOL, in partnership with Kroger, the site allows customers to download coupons directly to their Kroger Plus Card. During checkout, coupons are automatically redeemed when your Card is scanned.2. http://pgesaver.com
Customers can download Procter & Gamble (e.g. Tide) coupons directly to your Kroger Plus Card. During checkout, coupons are automatically redeemed when you scan your Card.
3. Printable Coupons
http://print.coupons.com/Couponweb/Offers.aspx?nid=10&pid=13223&zid=he00%3e
Customers who forget to pick up the Sunday paper can print coupons directly from the Kroger.com site. They can also view their weekly circulars online and add items directly to an electronic shopping list – another surefire way to save money.
4. http://www.kroger.com/pharmacy/Pages/default.aspx
5. http://www.krogerpersonalfinance.com/Max/KPFr.htm
Customers can sign up for a 1-2-3 Rewards MasterCard and earn free groceries when they shop. Customers earn points every time they shop with the card – 1 point for every dollar spent outside the store, 2 points for every dollar spent inside the store and 3 points for every dollar spent on any of the Kroger family brands. For every 1,000 points earned, cardholders receive $5 in FREE groceries.Also, through our NEW Holiday Fuel Saver Reward Program (
1 point for every dollar spent outside the store, 2 points for every dollar spent inside the store and 3 points for every dollar spent on any of the Kroger family brands. For every 1,000 points earned, cardholders receive $5 in FREE groceries.Also, through our NEW Holiday Fuel Saver Reward Program6. http://www.kroger.com/IN_STORE/Pages/fuel_rewards.aspx
Kroger shoppers are able to save $.10 off fuel with a $100 grocery purchase, as well as by purchasing $50 in gift cards or by filling two prescriptions at a Kroger Pharmacy (refills or new prescriptions). The gift cards and prescriptions are new features for this holiday season that will continue through the end of the year. See attached release on this program.
H-E-B doesn’t triple or double coupons, but instead HEB President Scott McClelland says the store offers everyday low prices.
The retailer hires an independent auditing company to comparison shop 15,000 items at both Kroger and Wal-Mart every month. H-E-B says it then adjusts its prices so that 75% of those 15,000 items are priced equal to or lower than the items at Kroger. McClelland says on average, their audits show H-E-B prices are about 8 percent lower than Kroger and slightly higher than retail giant wal-Mart.
You can see the results of H-E-B’s price checks. Most of the products list the price you’d pay at Kroger versus the price you pay at H-E-B.
H-E-B also offers what it calls “Combo Locos.” This week’s example, if you buy a brisket, you can get 5 or 6 items (like vegetables, bread and soda) for free.
These limited item price comparisons (yours was 10 items) rarely provide consumers with an accurate picture of real grocery prices with more than 50,000 items in a typical store. In other words, Randalls carries more than 50,000 items in any one of our stores. A comparison of only 10 items does not provide your viewers with a true picture of prices across the entire store nor does it appropriately reflect the full savings that our customers enjoy. During any one week we have nearly 5,000 items across the store at significantly reduced special pricing. Randalls also provides customers with a broad range of other savings opportunities across the store and at the fuel pump that will not likely be reflected in this kind of story. For example:
· Through our PowerPump program, Randalls is providing customers with the best fuel reward program in the market through accumulated gasoline discounts of 10 cents per gallon for each $100 spent in our stores. We recently doubled the fuel reward to 20 cents for every $100 spent on our selection of more than 300 gift cards.
· We offer double-coupon and triple-coupon discounts.
· Randalls has one of the best “airline miles” programs earned on Continental.
· We provide online coupons through Randalls.com that customers can print and redeem in stores.
1. Walmart is always committed to price leadership, especially when our customers need it most.
2. We take our commitment to provide value very seriously. We work closely with key suppliers, reduce packaging and lower shipping costs so that we can help keep prices low. When items do increase in price we have take into consideration many factors, such as transportation and cost of manufacturing.
Also, Walmart’s every day low price promise to be the lowest price retailer in any community through its Ad Match program. Walmart’s policy of matching the price of any local competitor’s printed advertisement for an identical product
Still waiting on response…
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