Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. No non-grocery posts.
SamSpade
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1568
Joined: September 13th, 2015, 4:39 pm
Has thanked: 374 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Status: Offline

Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by SamSpade »

So, any local media, feel free to borrow this from me if you want to do a story on a slower news day . . .
ABC15: Which Grocery Chain Has the Lowest Prices

ABC15 in Phoenix recently compared Winco, Walmart, Fry's, and Safeway with a 15-item checklist. The cheapest was Winco, the most expensive was Safeway, with Walmart and Fry's falling in between (Walmart being the second cheapest). What was curious to me is how close Safeway and Fry's are. Overall, Safeway had a +$5 difference but nothing outrageous like in some cases, and the differences in Safeway certainly would make it the better choice if you lived closer to one than a Fry's (in terms of driving/time).

The big question I have though is why they are different. Recent trends indicate that Safeway/Albertsons is getting better (slowly) and Kroger is getting worse (more noticeable), so are the close prices more of Albertsons/Safeway's willingness to compete or Kroger raising prices in center store?
SamSpade
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1568
Joined: September 13th, 2015, 4:39 pm
Has thanked: 374 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by SamSpade »

Here is what I found in Portland, Ore. Prices taken on January 14 or 15, 2018. Note, I added a few items (store house brand vs. name brand dairy) and accidentally priced gallons of orange juice instead of half gallons. Although, I also noticed today some OJ makers are now selling cartons that are less than a half-gallon.
Image of spreadsheet comparison
Sorry, always struggle to share images here.

My thoughts:
1. There are too many dairy products on this list. I feel like stores try to price these competitively since customers buy them frequently.
2. I didn't like the other kind of "junk" basket items, but they are things each store had, including the upscale independent.
3. pFresh is so strange at Target. The first Target location did not have many of these products in the fresh area including shredded cheese or cream cheese. After going to a different part of town, I could purchase the full list. I was surprised how competitive they are on price. The original store was carrying unusual dry goods items that clearly nearby Intel employees wanted. Everyone else has organic produce selections, but not Target. This seems like an odd decision to me.
4. QFC, while more expensive than most, certainly has a lot of employees. Everyone at that store seemed to be looking for things to do. . . but the cashier and courtesy clerk were so friendly without any prompting by me. They were also "rovers" in the store I visited. QFC has more of the high-end Kroger private labels (Hemisfares, Private Selection) and none of the Psst and little of Kroger.
5. Walmart Grocery online ordering with no fee is a pretty good deal at the neighborhood market. Virtually same prices as WinCo without any crowds. If they really have improved meat and produce this is a viable option. Their stores with a deli have won me over as a semi-regular. They have all 3 tiers of private label these days.
6. Canned vegetables are really out of fashion these days. Most stores are only carrying some corn, green beans, and peas.
pseudo3d
Posts: 3851
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by pseudo3d »

Interesting, I definitely have a few remarks after seeing that:

1. Albertsons and Safeway should be the same, they have identical prices on almost everything, but then there's just a few items at Albertsons (I would've thought Safeway) that really push it to be more expensive.
2. QFC and Fred Meyer should also be fairly close to each other, but they're more expensive on almost everything. Is QFC subsidizing Freddy's prices, or is Kroger gouging QFC customers?
3. Target is competitively priced against Safeway and Albertsons but the selection probably is worse than any of the non-Walmart/non-Winco stores.
4. No Costco?
5. I'm going to assume that the local independent is New Seasons Market, which is more upscale than typical and thus would have far and away the highest prices. At the same time, I've had some pretty terrible experiences with "local" supermarkets (all GSC-supplied), where the center store is always extremely high even when it's not an upscale store by any stretch.
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by Super S »

pseudo3d wrote: January 16th, 2018, 8:25 am Interesting, I definitely have a few remarks after seeing that:

1. Albertsons and Safeway should be the same, they have identical prices on almost everything, but then there's just a few items at Albertsons (I would've thought Safeway) that really push it to be more expensive.
2. QFC and Fred Meyer should also be fairly close to each other, but they're more expensive on almost everything. Is QFC subsidizing Freddy's prices, or is Kroger gouging QFC customers?
3. Target is competitively priced against Safeway and Albertsons but the selection probably is worse than any of the non-Walmart/non-Winco stores.
4. No Costco?
5. I'm going to assume that the local independent is New Seasons Market, which is more upscale than typical and thus would have far and away the highest prices. At the same time, I've had some pretty terrible experiences with "local" supermarkets (all GSC-supplied), where the center store is always extremely high even when it's not an upscale store by any stretch.
QFC is marketed as a more upscale store, with fewer locations, while Fred Meyer has more similarities to Walmart. So a higher price point is expected in that case. It is worth noting that QFC advertises far less in the Portland market than Seattle.

As for Albertsons and Safeway....since the merger the line has been blurred as to if either name is trying to be more upscale. I don't see a case where there should really be a price difference, and with Albertsons being the weaker of the two brands in the Portland area, am wondering what purpose the Albertsons name really serves in the area at this point.

I am also curious if there is much price variation between a Walmart Neighborhood Market and a Walmart Supercenter, even though Portland has few Supercenter locations. I have, on several occasions, noticed variation at Walmart on nonfood items while visiting different locations in the same town.
pseudo3d
Posts: 3851
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by pseudo3d »

Super S wrote: January 16th, 2018, 9:44 am QFC is marketed as a more upscale store, with fewer locations, while Fred Meyer has more similarities to Walmart. So a higher price point is expected in that case. It is worth noting that QFC advertises far less in the Portland market than Seattle.

As for Albertsons and Safeway....since the merger the line has been blurred as to if either name is trying to be more upscale. I don't see a case where there should really be a price difference, and with Albertsons being the weaker of the two brands in the Portland area, am wondering what purpose the Albertsons name really serves in the area at this point.
But "marketing" as an upscale store is different than actually being one. Most of the pictures I've seen of QFC have the same décor packages as other Kroger-brand stores, so I want to assume that they are more or less equal to the "nice" Kroger stores, which still isn't saying a whole lot.

Safeway also tried to sell themselves as more upmarket, which did not go over so well as a company. Those antics got them run out of Chicago, run out of North Jersey, nearly run out of Houston, and only really succeeding in San Francisco, Washington DC, and other markets where they had a captive audience. I'd imagine that over time, Albertsons will get discarded in favor of Safeway since it's the stronger name, and indications in dual markets have similar sentiments (the only market where this is not the case is Las Vegas, though LV hasn't seen any actual rebranding yet).
Super S
Posts: 2690
Joined: April 1st, 2009, 9:27 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 61 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by Super S »

pseudo3d wrote: January 16th, 2018, 11:02 am

But "marketing" as an upscale store is different than actually being one. Most of the pictures I've seen of QFC have the same décor packages as other Kroger-brand stores, so I want to assume that they are more or less equal to the "nice" Kroger stores, which still isn't saying a whole lot.

Safeway also tried to sell themselves as more upmarket, which did not go over so well as a company. Those antics got them run out of Chicago, run out of North Jersey, nearly run out of Houston, and only really succeeding in San Francisco, Washington DC, and other markets where they had a captive audience. I'd imagine that over time, Albertsons will get discarded in favor of Safeway since it's the stronger name, and indications in dual markets have similar sentiments (the only market where this is not the case is Las Vegas, though LV hasn't seen any actual rebranding yet).
I have not been inside a QFC in several years and was not aware they are using standard Kroger decor. They used to have a more upscale appearance and it seemed like Kroger let them do their own thing for quite a while.

The Albertsons name I think will survive in some areas...Boise comes to mind as Safeway disappeared from that market years ago. But in the long run it doesn't make sense in markets like Portland or Seattle. It's going to be really interesting to see how the remaining Haggen brand stores are doing in a few years though....when you factor Haggen in, some markets have THREE brands under the same ownership.
pseudo3d
Posts: 3851
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by pseudo3d »

Super S wrote: January 16th, 2018, 2:31 pm
pseudo3d wrote: January 16th, 2018, 11:02 am

But "marketing" as an upscale store is different than actually being one. Most of the pictures I've seen of QFC have the same décor packages as other Kroger-brand stores, so I want to assume that they are more or less equal to the "nice" Kroger stores, which still isn't saying a whole lot.

Safeway also tried to sell themselves as more upmarket, which did not go over so well as a company. Those antics got them run out of Chicago, run out of North Jersey, nearly run out of Houston, and only really succeeding in San Francisco, Washington DC, and other markets where they had a captive audience. I'd imagine that over time, Albertsons will get discarded in favor of Safeway since it's the stronger name, and indications in dual markets have similar sentiments (the only market where this is not the case is Las Vegas, though LV hasn't seen any actual rebranding yet).
I have not been inside a QFC in several years and was not aware they are using standard Kroger decor. They used to have a more upscale appearance and it seemed like Kroger let them do their own thing for quite a while.

The Albertsons name I think will survive in some areas...Boise comes to mind as Safeway disappeared from that market years ago. But in the long run it doesn't make sense in markets like Portland or Seattle. It's going to be really interesting to see how the remaining Haggen brand stores are doing in a few years though....when you factor Haggen in, some markets have THREE brands under the same ownership.
It turns out that QFC may have been the one to debut at least an early version of the décor I've seen in almost every Kroger I've visited in the last three years (and it's a fairly long list). Even if it had upscale origins, seeing it extended to decrepit old Greenhouse stores within a few years of its debut tends to devalue it, you know?

http://www.retailwatchers.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=98

The only thing QFC is doing differently (especially from other divisions of its pedigrees) is a rather extensive Home Department in a small handful of stores (including a very nice selection of towels), though that's probably just a spin-off of Fred Meyer in its market.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by storewanderer »

QFC used to do a lot differently but I have noticed some of their larger stores feel very "standard Kroger" the past few years. Some of the smaller stores, still feel like something different. They run some more upscale stores. More prepared meat items, larger service meat counters, higher cost deli items, higher cost bakery items, and far less private label in center store than typical Kroger banners. Also, much more specialty produce (at higher prices). I'd like to say they have better quality control than the typical Kroger, but they aren't perfect (as they should be, given their pricing).

Yelp reviews and Google reviews for QFC will give you a better idea about their stores. Their best stores are around Seattle. Notably, University Village, Bellevue Square.
pseudo3d
Posts: 3851
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote: January 16th, 2018, 10:20 pm QFC used to do a lot differently but I have noticed some of their larger stores feel very "standard Kroger" the past few years. Some of the smaller stores, still feel like something different. They run some more upscale stores. More prepared meat items, larger service meat counters, higher cost deli items, higher cost bakery items, and far less private label in center store than typical Kroger banners. Also, much more specialty produce (at higher prices). I'd like to say they have better quality control than the typical Kroger, but they aren't perfect (as they should be, given their pricing).

Yelp reviews and Google reviews for QFC will give you a better idea about their stores. Their best stores are around Seattle. Notably, University Village, Bellevue Square.
Certainly the "less private label" brings up memories of Market Street, or at least how it was when I visited it a few years back.
babs
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 762
Joined: December 20th, 2016, 3:08 pm
Has thanked: 19 times
Been thanked: 64 times
Status: Offline

Re: Portland, Ore. area grocery price comparison

Post by babs »

I wouldn't consider QFC upscale or the University Village and Bellevue Square stores upscale either. They are both larger stores. Usually when a store gets larger, they add more skus. Usually when you add more SKUs, those products tend to be more expensive and profitable. You may call that upscale but I don't. QFC is a run of the mill Kroger store, which is decidedly middle of the market. There's probably a 95% overlap in products with Fred Meyer. QFC just incorporates a few Seattle specific products in their mix. And Top Pot donuts.
Post Reply