In short: Fry's is overall cheaper than Safeway.
In long (if that's even a phrase): Some items proved cheaper at Safeway and some items proved cheaper at Fry's. Let's analyze my table below.
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I didn't include the sizes in the blog because the formatting was all screwy but what's important is that similar sizes/weights/counts were compared. These are items that I buy at least once a month and so collected the prices over a period of 3-4 weeks. With that said I look back at prices I recorded at the beginning of the experiment and there are already different prices because of sales at both stores. As you can see there were some items such as bread that were more expensive at Fry's but items such as dairy were cheaper. With various sales going on between the two stores I noticed while Safeway generally had more expensive dairy their sales proved to reduce prices below Fry's.
So what will I do now? I don't really know. $5 can add up fast. Had I continued my experiment and increased my sample population I may find that there is only a $1 difference. Safeway certainly has better customer service. The cashiers talk to me as I'm checking out and as I'm walking through the aisle's other employees ALWAYS ask if I need help finding anything. Fry's.....well one guy said 'hi' to me without looking me in the eye as we passed down the aisle. And the cashier's ask me if I have my VIP card, but the extent of their conversation is just that. I realize this may only be limited the particular location I visit but in that case there is a problem for Fry's in general, they need to focus on improving that location because I sure as heck ain't driving out to Rita Ranch or up to Golf Links and Kolb to save $5.
On the topic of produce, while it is important, I still can't determine if it's worth it all. I do agree with a good friend, Kacy, Sunflower is definitely the place to go for produce. Maybe they should put one in the empty building up here at Golf Links and Harrison.
Anywhooo, I don't know if this solves anything for anyone else, I'll say it again, I can't really determine if it makes that much difference to me. Perhaps it was a behavior issue for me than anything else, at least in my previous attempts to find better prices. I will conclude that large, corporate grocery chains are there to compete so their prices are going to be similar. Thankfully we have competition so that the majority of prices will stay at a lower price range, no matter where we go.
1 comment:
Thanks for doing this study, even if it yielded mostly what you thought would be. I would say that your observation about customer service is spot on in regards to Safeway v. Fry's. I feel very valued and cared for at Safeway; it's one of the main reasons I shop there. And I've been to lots of Safeways and lots of Fry's all over Tucson--it's basically the same story. Is $5 worth customer service? Hard to say, but I think I'd lean toward yes.
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