Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

This is the place for general and miscellaneous posts on topics which might extend past the boundaries of any specific region. No non-grocery posts.
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Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by SamSpade »

Good staples list to consider price checking in your community if interested.
I'm still surprised how Target has become a "grocer" in popular conversation.
https://grow.acorns.com/aldi-trader-joe ... cost-most/
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by HCal »

I don't think most Americans consider Target to be a grocer. This article had an odd selection of retailers. They should have picked the largest regional chains in each city rather than national chains which may be niche and not have high market share.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by CalItalian »

HCal wrote: April 30th, 2022, 2:08 am I don't think most Americans consider Target to be a grocer. This article had an odd selection of retailers. They should have picked the largest regional chains in each city rather than national chains which may be niche and not have high market share.
Only if it is a Super Target. But I'd say the same for Walmart Supercenter, also.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by marketreportblog »

HCal wrote: April 30th, 2022, 2:08 am I don't think most Americans consider Target to be a grocer. This article had an odd selection of retailers. They should have picked the largest regional chains in each city rather than national chains which may be niche and not have high market share.
Exactly. Although, of course, that makes the analysis much harder. In NY metro, you have the simple ones -- ACME and Stop & Shop, and ShopRite which is a coop but tends to keep prices within a similar range, but then in the city and with many of the urban coops all bets are off. Key Food, the market leader in New York City itself, has wildly different pricing at its various stores (not least because some of their stores are super-no-frills value stores in lower-income neighborhoods and others are extremely high end stores). The selection of these four is probably just for consistency, as well as ease of actual comparison.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by buckguy »

They don't indicate how they tried to make the comparisons really comparable--store brand items? Aldi and Trader Joe's wouldn't necessarily have name brands. They mostly highlight the outliers--chicken at Trader Joe's (the meat department usually has no customers), eggs at Wal-Mart (a legit surprise). Also, DeKalb, IL isn't really a suburb and I wouldn't be surprised if prices were different in actual suburbs.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by BillyGr »

CalItalian wrote: April 30th, 2022, 11:00 am
HCal wrote: April 30th, 2022, 2:08 am I don't think most Americans consider Target to be a grocer. This article had an odd selection of retailers. They should have picked the largest regional chains in each city rather than national chains which may be niche and not have high market share.
Only if it is a Super Target. But I'd say the same for Walmart Supercenter, also.
Though even the more "regular" Target stores have a wider grocery selection (including at least some fresh veggies, meat, dairy etc.) than you'd find at the (few) traditional Walmart stores still around?
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by HCal »

BillyGr wrote: May 2nd, 2022, 1:31 pm

Though even the more "regular" Target stores have a wider grocery selection (including at least some fresh veggies, meat, dairy etc.) than you'd find at the (few) traditional Walmart stores still around?
The D1 stores seem to vary, but the ones I've been to do have dairy coolers and at least some produce. I think they are comparable to the regular Targets with PFresh.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by storewanderer »

HCal wrote: May 2nd, 2022, 5:40 pm
BillyGr wrote: May 2nd, 2022, 1:31 pm

Though even the more "regular" Target stores have a wider grocery selection (including at least some fresh veggies, meat, dairy etc.) than you'd find at the (few) traditional Walmart stores still around?
The D1 stores seem to vary, but the ones I've been to do have dairy coolers and at least some produce. I think they are comparable to the regular Targets with PFresh.
Depends on the D1 Store. I've seen D1 stores with enough groceries to basically be a Supercenter minus the meat department/service deli/service bakery/expansive frozen/produce. Some D1 stores are limited by city or lease as to how much space they can have for groceries.

I've always wondered how the D1 Stores handle backstock of refrigerated and frozen goods as those definitely were not built with walk ins. I assume they have some freestanding storage units in the back.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by Alpha8472 »

Many D1 stores added more refrigerator rooms and freezer rooms with remodels in the past 5 or so years. Some added them to the backrooms by taking space away from other areas. Some stores expanded the stores and added additions to the stores by taking space away from parking lots or garden centers. Walmart usually does not have freestanding coolers. The refrigerated rooms have rolling doors and I have heard about employees getting trapped in them when the doors accidentally closed.
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Re: Acorn does a price check: NY, Chicago, LA suburbs

Post by SamSpade »

OK, here is my local check in on this same list. I agree with the article, pricing has certainly narrowed nationwide, my basket at the "conventional" stores was about $45 (selecting lowest possible cost option every time).
Early May 2022 Grocery Comparison
Despite all the discussion here, the Albertsons Co's., Kroger, and Target are neck and neck. There are certainly ways to save money on this list, for example, this week Albertsons has the regional $10 off $50+ cart coupon available (now digital only, I guess to prevent associates from giving it to anyone shopping that might ask about the signs at registers, as I'd seen in the past).

Amazon Fresh is now available in this market, so I added them. For some reason, bananas are not available. They seem to "bake in" the delivery cost but came out about the same as QFC.

As a reminder/refresher, here's a list from September 2021 of slightly different items that I compiled in response to a video created in Brooklyn, NY.
2021 Grocery Price Comparison
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