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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 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, this week’s list, dated March 7, 2023, is unchanged in item count from February 20, the previous Wichita metro weekly essentials review for a total of 25 grocery products.  There were no revisions to the shopping list.

Prices stated are online prices and for items available at the time of the review. Items out of stock were not priced. 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.

Takeaways from this week’s price review:

  • Egg prices continue to drop, trending down at all three stores reviewed.  Back in January, the average price for a carton of eggs in the Wichita metro was about $5.  That average price dropped to $3.21 on February 20 and for this reporting period, it’s down to $2.80.
  • Aldi was the second lowest in online pricing of the three stores reviewed. 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.  Notable best-value prices can be found for bread, fish, lunchmeat, and potatoes.
  • The Dillons online pricing is the same as in-store.  As in past reviews, Dillons has a very red column of prices.   The typical weekly price gap of $6 – $10 vs. the other stores did narrow this week though, led by their special on chicken. Tyson is on sale, buy one get one free for the standard package (the size always reviewed, shopping for an approximate package size of about 2 pounds).  The average per pound price on the BOGO deal is $2.75.    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. 
  • The Walmart online pricing is the same as for in-store.   They have the “greenest” price column with notable savings on milk, canola oil, and Kraft singles.  They charge too much for the crappiest bacon of the three stores however and consistently have the highest price for lunchmeat.

Don’t see some essential items that you think should be on the list?  Send me an email.

Related:  Have you bought your corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day yet? 

$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

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