SURVEY: Which grocery stores have the lowest prices?
HOUSTON - Inflation has driven up grocery prices by 5.4% this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, especially on meats. Ground beef is up 18%, eggs are up 29%, and if you want to bring home the bacon, you'll pay 28% to do it.
Before you head out to do your holiday grocery shopping, you might wonder which stores truly have the lowest prices. We looked at a recent price survey and did some shopping of our own.
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First, let's look at a recent comparison of the same 43 groceries at Kroger, Walmart, Sprouts Farmer's Market, Target, and Whole Foods in a recent survey by analyst Robert Ohmes and Bank of America.
The lowest price for all 43 items was $104 at Walmart. Kroger was the second-lowest at $117. Target came in third, followed by Sprouts and Whole Foods.
Dollar stores don't always carry the same items, so the comparison looked at 52 of the similar items at Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Kroger, Walmart, and Target.
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Walmart was again the winner with a total of $145. Target and Dollar General were second at about $149. Kroger and Family Dollar were third at about $159.
But when it came to comparing two low price leaders, Aldi and Walmart, on 62 similar items, the comparison showed Aldi came out with the lowest prices, 4% lower overall than Walmart.
You've probably noticed H-E-B and Fiesta Mart were not in this comparison, so we did our own.
We shopped for milk, eggs, shredded cheese, orange juice, and bread and looked up online prices at H-E-B, Joe V's Smart Shop, Fiesta Mart Walmart, and Kroger.
Joe V's Smart Shop was the lowest at $9.50. Kroger came in second at $10.53, followed by H-E-B at $11, and Fiesta Mart at $11.44. However, keep in mind, supply chain issues mean stores don't always have the items they normally would, and that can affect prices for what they do have.
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Fiesta Mart would have come in second place on several items on our list.
To find the store with the lowest prices for the foods on your particular shopping list, there are a few apps that can help.
One is called Basket. You can plug in your shopping list, and it lets you compare both in-store and online prices at many local stores.
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You can also enter your shopping list into an app called Flipp. It will show you the store with the lowest prices on those items. It aggregates circulars from local stores to show you the best deals.