Grocery Comparison Shopping in Phoenix

Once in a while, I do some comparison shopping for groceries and household items.  The clerk down at Basha’s always says “you saved x amount of dollars shopping at Basha’s today."  And that’s hogwash. Basha’s is never cheaper than the other stores – every time I’ve done my little exercise, real world (this is the 4th), Basha’s is always the most expensive local store.  

An employee also recently told me that they always have a more complete selection of products – that you can always find what you’re looking for at a Basha’s store.  That’s not true either – in fact, I often complain that I can’t find everything on my list at Basha’s and have to go somewhere else looking for an item or two – especially if it is something unusual. I cannot help but think they are being deliberately dishonest.  This is not a hate-rant on Basha’s, I often shop there for the convenience – it is the closest to my house.  I have shopped there for years and I like some of the employees there. But that dishonesty does bother me.

Today I shopped for a list of thirty-five items that I normally buy, randomly selected before I left the house.  I don’t sale shop – nor do I use coupons.  I typically go after only what I’ve run out of (for the things I keep on hand) plus what I need to make whatever I’ve decided I’m going to eat.  I will buy the “house-brand” if I believe the quality of that product is the same as the normal national brand. Today, some of the items on my list were on sale, others were not.  I figure that all balances out as it changes every week – and all stores have sales.

TODAY'S LIST

At Basha’s, today, my specific list of 35 items would have cost me $150.31.  The same list at Fry’s totaled $126.63.  At Wal Mart, $122.67.  It comes out like this every time I do the exercise – Basha’s is always significantly higher, Fry’s is always the lowest of the traditional stores, and Wal Mart always the cheapest overall.  In the past, I’ve included Safeway and Albertson’s in this also, and they have always fallen in between Basha’s and Fry’s (but I didn't include them today).  

If I consistently shopped at Wal Mart for my groceries, assuming that I bought a list like this each week, I would save $1,437 each year shopping at Wal Mart.  I think that’s a lot of money, and I think Basha’s just finally lost a customer.   My savings won’t be quite as much, because I don’t usually buy this much at one time, but it will still be a significant amount.  Even if I shop at Fry’s (owned by Kroger, and a much nicer store with a huge variety), I would save $1,196 per year over Basha's, and this would only be $4 per week more than Wal Mart at this level of spending.  That's hard to pass up and those stores (Fry's and Wal Mart) aren't so much farther away that I would lose the savings in extra gas money.