Outsmart the grocery store
I just wanted to take a moment to share a worthwhile link. I consider myself a reasonably savvy and experienced grocery shopper, feeding 12 on a very modest budget, but I learned a few things from this list:
50 Sneaky Grocery Store Tricks That Trim Your Wallet and Pad Your Waistline ETA: link is now dead
My favorite:
Sale items are out of reach. Let’s say a can of tomatoes is on sale. You search for it, can’t find it and instead of making your own marinara sauce, you opt for a pre-packaged option that’s high in fat and salt. Grocery stores know most people won’t bother to ask or seek out a sale item they can’t immediately find, causing you to buy the less healthy and more expensive option.
And I often let myself get fooled by this one:
Multiple buys. Grocery stores love to run promotions for multiple purchases with the worst food on the planet such as soda and chips. You don’t need one bag, much less the three for $7 batch.
This was a little intriguing to me. Do you ever fall for it, or think others do?
Produce at the front of the store. Research shows that produce is placed at the front of a store because shoppers will stock up and then feel less guilty about not-so-healthy purchases elsewhere in the store.
And I've had dark suspicions about this one for a long time:
Pricey house brands. We’ve been conditioned to think the off-brand is always cheaper. This isn’t so. Many name brand are competing with house brands and know it, so they can be cheaper based on ounces per unit. Read the label and don’t assume you’re getting a better deal.
That was 4. Read the other 46 tricks. ETA: link is now dead
My own observation: Have you noticed that store brands, which used to imitate the packaging of national brands, are beginning to look cheaper and more generic? I think they are reacting to the struggling economy. While they used to strive to look like the higher quality products, now they want consumers to perceive them as being less expensive. Generic packaging does the trick, often convincing buyers that they don't need to do the math and compare unit price - anything generic must be cheaper, right?
What sneaky grocery store tricks have you figured out? Which ones have you fallen for?
8 Responses to “Outsmart the grocery store”
July 7th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Oh, I totally do that produce thing! “sure, I got some cookies, but look! fruit!”
I have started saving all my receipts from the various places I shop. That way I will be able to figure out if laundry soap at Costco really is cheaper than WalMart.
July 7th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
the other day I bought a generic of Nesquick.
(I know, I shouldn’t be buying Nesquick, but my sister and I might go through the small can in three or four months, it’s just a treat every now and then.)
Anyway, I bought the generic because I saved about 30 cents after checking to see that the generic can and the brand name can had the same amount, which according to the label, they did. Well, lo and behold, I got home, opened it, and there was a BIG gap between the top of the can and the top of the powder. When you buy the Nesquick brand, it goes very close to the top (just enough room for a little settling.)
What made matters worse, it tastes terrible, there is no comparison in taste at all. (And I freely eat and drink generic products ALL the time, and either can’t tell the difference or prefer them, so this is not a case of brand snobbery.)
So now, I wasted my money. This is definitely a case where even if technically, I was saving money buying generic, it was not worth it to buy cheap.
July 8th, 2010 at 7:52 am
i buy only what is on “the list” and if it is not available we do without it or shop elsewhere. store managers hate to see me coming towards them.
July 8th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Just shared this post with my Facebook fan page. Thank you
July 8th, 2010 at 8:53 am
Haven’t read the 46 pts yet, but another thing that we’ve found is that’s it’s cheaper to buy frozen veggies than it is the canned ones. Not only do they taste better, but there is no water in the bag adding to the weight.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I hate to admit it, but i always fall for the multiple buy part, especially when they sell a huge bag of chips in 3′s for a very cheap price. Not only am I wasting money, I am also am intaking things which are not healthy for me and will only add weight and burden to my body.
August 4th, 2010 at 7:01 am
If they sell something in two different weights (eg 1kg and 500g) it’s always worth doing the maths to check which works out cheaper. Lately i’ve noticed that buying two of the 500g is actually often cheaper than buying the 1kg bag (and of course I’d only buy two of the 500g if I actually needed them!)
May 14th, 2012 at 11:10 am
The link to all 50 tips has failed.
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