Strictly Embargoed Until: CONTACT: Jamie Lettis November 7, 2013 202.454.3006 [email protected]

Highlights:

The latest issue of Puget Sound Consumers’ CHECKBOOK magazine, available at www.checkbook.org, compares local supermarkets for price and quality, evaluates membership warehouse stores and Trader Joe’s, and gives tips on how to save on groceries anywhere you shop.

Comparing Supermarkets for Price and Quality CHECKBOOK compared prices at local supermarkets using an apples-to-apples market basket of 152 items, and compared quality based on surveys of CHECKBOOK and Consumer Reports subscribers. Highlights include:

• The area’s price standouts were Supercenter and WinCo. Compared to the /QFC/Safeway/ average (referred to as “the big-chain average”), Walmart Supercenter’s prices were about 22 percent lower and WinCo’s prices were 21 percent lower. Walmart Neighborhood Market had prices 17 percent lower than the big- chain average. For a family that spends $150 per week at the , a 17 to 22 percent price difference could total a savings of $1,326 to $1,716 per year.

• Among the area’s four largest chains— Albertsons, QFC, Safeway, and Fred Meyer, Fred Meyer was the clear price winner. Fred Meyer’s prices for our full market basket were 12 to 16 percent lower than QFC’s prices, nine to 12 percent lower than Albertsons’, and 10 to 11 percent lower than Safeway’s.

• QFC’s prices were the highest among the area’s four largest chains, with prices two to six percent higher than the average prices at Albertsons and Safeway.

• Prices at Target, which offers a basic selection of groceries, were about nine percent lower than the big-chain average.

• On the quality side, Albertsons, Safeway, and Walmart rated near the bottom for “quality of fresh produce,” “quality of fresh meats,” and “overall quality.”

• Prices at stores that received the highest percentages of “superior” ratings from their customers for “overall quality” were substantially higher than the big-chain average. Ballard Market was rated “superior” for “overall quality” by 96 percent of its surveyed customers, by 94 percent, and PCC by 90 percent. Ballard Market’s prices were 17 percent higher than the big-chain average, Central Market’s 18 percent, and PCC’s 58 percent.

• ’s and PCC’s prices were the area’s highest—Whole Foods’ prices were 54 percent higher than the big-chain average for the limited number of comparable items available at each chain, and PCC’s prices were 58 percent higher. That said, Whole Foods and PCC consistently receive very high scores for quality of fresh produce and meat, which account for many of the items we were able to compare between Whole Foods and PCC and the other chains.

Alternative to the Supermarket—Trader Joe’s • Trader Joe’s overall ratings on CHECKBOOK’s survey of customers were considerably higher than those for the big chains, yet its prices aren’t necessarily higher.

• CHECKBOOK compared prices for its full market basket with fresh produce, meats, and dairy products and national brand non-perishables at the traditional supermarkets to the same market basket items allowing substitution of Trader Joe’s brands, and found Trader Joe’s prices were three percent cheaper than the big-chain average (although six percent higher than Fred Meyer’s prices and eight percent lower than QFC’s).

• When CHECKBOOK allowed substitution of any brand (or generic) for the products at the big chains, Trader Joe’s price advantage disappeared against Albertsons and Safeway and almost disappeared against QFC. For fresh produce, Trader Joe’s prices were seven percent higher than the big-chain average, and for meat, Trader Joe’s prices were about nine percent higher.

• Trader Joe’s has a much more limited selection of products than the traditional supermarkets—only 26 percent of the items in CHECKBOOK’s market basket were available there.

Buying in Bulk—Warehouse Clubs • For purchasing certain grocery items, membership warehouse stores offer an alternative to supermarkets. CHECKBOOK surveyed and Sam’s Club. These membership warehouse stores had few if any of the items in CHECKBOOK’s market basket in standard sizes. But when the researchers looked for the same brands regardless of size, membership warehouse stores offered a larger portion of basket items. Sam’s Club had 46 percent, and Costco had 41 percent.

• For the items that could be compared, based on unit prices (price per pound, for example), the surveyed membership warehouse stores offered dramatic savings. The surveyed Sam’s Club store, for example, beat the Albertsons store it was compared to by 34 percent.

• If comparisons were made only for products where the warehouse store’s items were no more than twice the size of the items at the traditional supermarket, the price difference was slightly smaller (and disappeared in one case); prices at Costco were 20 percent lower than those at a surveyed Safeway.

• Most consumers will not be able to do all their shopping at a warehouse store. An option is to buy what you can at a warehouse store and then buy remaining products at a supermarket. Following that method with a Costco store and a QFC store could be expected to save a shopper about 15 percent compared to shopping at QFC alone, according to CHECKBOOK’s comparisons.

Save Money Anywhere You Shop • Plan meals and make lists to limit impulse buying and avoid multiple shopping trips. Shoppers can make a list of commonly purchased items in the order they come to them in the aisles, then print copies or save it in a smart phone. Mark up the list before each trip to the supermarket.

• Don’t shop while hungry.

• Keep track of wasted food and adjust quantities purchased on future trips.

• Stock up on items on special. If an item is priced exceptionally well, buy in quantity.

• Consider substituting store brand or generic products for national brands. When CHECKBOOK allowed for the substitution of cheaper generic and store brands for about one-sixth of the items in its price-shopping market basket, the total cost for the market basket dropped by about seven percent, on average, at the big chains.

• Go online for coupons. Most manufacturers have printable coupons on their websites, and shoppers can get even more from sites such as SmartSource.com, Coupons.com, or RedPlum.com.

• Buy inexpensive cuts of meat and learn ways to cook them. Or make vegetarian meals to save money.

• Try recipes from various parts of the world. Some cuisines use much less meat, or less expensive meat, than is common in many popular meals in the U.S.

• Eat what’s in season. Savings change with growing seasons. Also compare the price of fresh produce to frozen or canned.

• Compare weights when selecting item-priced produce. One head of lettuce may be significantly larger than another yet cost the same.

• Don’t pay for small conveniences. Slicing your own cheese, chopping vegetables, or making sauce saves money.

• If the least expensive stores are not convenient for every week’s shopping, keep them in mind for times when you will be going by them anyway.

The media may draw freely on the information on supermarkets in the new issue of Puget Sound Consumers’ CHECKBOOK magazine and at www.checkbook.org. CHECKBOOK’s editors are available for interviews. Please contact Jamie Lettis at 202-454-3006 or [email protected] to schedule.

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