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 December 4, 2023, 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 November 20, prices are up at all stores. Aldi shoppers would have spent $1.52 more for the same items purchased just two weeks ago. Dillons shoppers paid an additional $1.59, and Walmart shoppers spent $0.23 more with this shop.
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 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 and to repeat, prices are up compared to the previous review. The price gap in this grocery shop, Dillons vs. Aldi was $8.43. The Dillons price gap with Walmart was $7.30. Dillons shoppers probably won’t make up those gaps with loyalty card savings and fuel points. 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. They are currently running a ‘sale’ on Tyson Chicken Breasts, buy one package, get one free. The average weight per package is 1.65 lbs., and the average per package price is $9.48, so when you throw in the second package free, that breaks down to chicken for $5.74/lb. That’s not a ‘sale’… Aldi price – $3.49/lb. Walmart price – $3.98/lb.
- 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.
- Whole Turkey Prices: I recently wrote a piece on this being a good time to buy a whole turkey if that’s on the menu for Christmas. Stores tend to knock prices down if they have a Thanksgiving overstock. Dillons currently has Kroger whole turkeys (frozen) priced at 0.97/lb. That’s down from $1.39 at Thanksgiving. Walmart hasn’t lowered their price for Butterball brand turkeys, it’s still the same price as for Thanksgiving time at $1.28/lb., but the Jennie-O brand (I’m not a fan) is priced at $0.98/lb. Aldi doesn’t have an overstock price right now, in fact, their frozen whole turkey price has risen to $1.99/lb., that’s up from $1.59 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Egg prices back on the rise: Egg prices are up at all stores which have been trending that way since June. June 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 34 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
Grocery Store Prices, comparing Aldi, Dillons, Walmart in Wichita – 12/04/2023 – 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 December 4, 2023, 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 November 20, prices are up at all stores. Aldi shoppers would have spent $1.52 more for the same items purchased just two weeks ago. Dillons shoppers paid an additional $1.59, and Walmart shoppers spent $0.23 more with this shop.
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.
Takeaways from this week’s price review:
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