Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

I shop as you do, Julie. At Market Basket (Middleton or Reading) with a few quick stops at S&S. Market Basket's prices are always lower. For a few reasons, I dislike the S&S in North Reading but have been noticing that their prices have been becoming more competitive recently. I think that had you done this study 6 months ago, the prices between MB and S&S would have been much further apart.

Thanks for doing all of the legwork! Very helpful and informative.

Thanks for finally doing this! Every week when I read the grocery circulars, I think about doing something like this, but seems like so much work. I think if you had included deli meats, the MB vs S&S difference would have been more like 30% overall! On any given week, the regular price of MB store brand white american is 3.99, vs like 5.99 S&S. Store brand baked turkey breast 3.99 or 4.99 MB vs 7.99 S&S. Same with ham, roast beef. I'm talking just store brands. I also think MB store brands are generally cheaper than S&S store brands for things like cereal, crackers, etc. There are a few "key" items I have to trek to S&S for, like Friendship cottage cheese (the highest protein brand, no additives, much better tasting than others, all natural), and there are some things I try to avoid at MB, like the MB brand bags of frozen fish (product of China) and many MB mixed frozen vegetables (ditto). I do find S&S has more "US" or "Canada" frozen vegs. I just don't trust food from China.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing! No wait…

I’d just add that no matter which store you choose to shop at, you need to take advantage of their “perks” to get the most out you grocery dollar. We religiously peruse the Market Basket flyer while making our grocery list and plan meals around the best specials of the week. Stop & Shop has weekly specials as well as the points toward discounted gasoline purchases. Not taking advantage of these offers is like leaving money on the table! If you have the patience to cut them out (thank you wife!), significant savings can be had from manufacturer’s coupons as well!
I’ll stick with MB. They’ve got the best prices and everything I need.

As for weekly planning, e made up some grocery lists that really help. One side has a list of the days with a few blank lines under each down the right hand side. There are more blank lines down the middle for each day. On the right side is a list of our four family members and a few lines under each. On the flip side is a list of all the groceries we usually buy in the order that we come upon them at the Reading Market Basket. They’re grouped by department with a few blank lines for each.

Grocery trip planning goes like this… Down the middle column we list activities that are planned for the week: maybe an athletic event that interferes with dinner or one of us travelling. Then each of the four of us offers at least one meal they’d like to have in the coming week. This gives the kids some say in what’s coming up and cuts complaints. My wife and I try to suggest meals that align with the specials in the store flyer as well. The next step is assigning meals to days – keeping in mind the activities and who will be around and when leftovers are likely to have sufficiently accumulated to be a meal in their own.
The final step is to update the actual shopping list. We survey the kitchen and cross off regular items that aren’t required and then add any meal-specific items from the meal plan. The result is an ordered list for the week’s shopping trip!

OK, maybe it’s a little obsessive but it works.

Julia, *love* this. I did something similar for a school project, and also found MB to be the most competitive price-wise. I'd love to see your price differentials including Whole Foods (ha!), but I'm also curious if you take advantage of food shopping at any of the warehouse companies like Costco. For some of the stuff we buy regularly, Costco's per-unit prices are very competitive and the products are great quality.

I agree with the comments on the Hannaford experience. I actually enjoy grocery shopping when I am there. Even though it is further away, it is sometimes worth the trip just for that.

Thanks Julie...good information. I have long been a Market Basket shopper but i might give Hannaford's a try in the near future. Nancy Ferretti

Thanks Julia!
I used to shop regularly at S&S, but found that even with double coupons it just wasn't helping my budget. MB is someplace I can't handle...so I went to Hannaford. Like you, my experience is always nice. The staff are helpful and the store is easy to work through. I don't enjoy grocery shopping but Hannaford has really made it a little bit better :)

I converted reluctantly to MB during the recession. Once S&S moved to the new NR location I stopped shopping there unless in a pinch as the new store lacks many of the items that I desire. However during Xmas I bought three whole roaster Perdue chickens from MB and had to run to S&S to get an extra one. Same product. Per lb price at MB was .66 and at S&S was 1.77. I was flabbergasted. I will try Hannafords. And for a tolerable MB experience, go to Burlington. The store is newer and large so the aisles are much larger than the other ones.

Thanks for the tip on the Burlington MB. I also visit the Wilmington MB - less crowded and roomier there, compared to Reading.

ITA agree with Wilmington Market Basket. Each aisle is at at least a foot wider, it feels. The parking lot is much saner, too (though worst MB parking lot around is Woburn -- why do they insist on making the only exit path for cars directly pass the front entrance of store)
Don't know how they do it in Reading, but whenever that I shop there (and I've tried during workday, weekday evening, and weekend day & night) at least 70% of the aisles (i.e., any aisles with human food) are being blocked somewhere with at least one large pallet doing stocking. I NEVER ever see anyone stocking at S&S. That tells me either MB is selling more & needing to restock even during day and/or that MB is too cheap to pay workers to stock after hours. That must be when S&S does it?

Thanks for doing this.

We really really like Hannaford's, having experience with them from Vermont and Maine. Their prices are pretty comparable (as you've shown), and the experience is great.

We also have a different angle on this whole thing: we switched to Hannaford's because of S&S's lock out of other supermarkets from NR. While they think it's a great business move, they've left (yet another) empty store front in our town. We were very unhappy as it made S&S less convenient and reduced choice. Now we only go to S&S if we urgently need something. (I even called the Hannaford's corporate office back when S&S did this to urge them to try to find a way into NR, but they didn't have any plans to expand at the time. They are aware of how much traffic S&S and MB get in Reading, so they know it is a "hot" area...)

I was very pleasantly surprised that Hannaford's prices were so close to MB's. I've always enjoyed shopping them in Maine as well. I just never think to head in the direction of W. Peabody when I'm at home. I definitely appreciate your point of view on boycotting S&S because of their alienating business practices. They seem unconcerned with NR residents' opinions and pleas for resolution of the empty store front. Not a great business move.

Julia, thank you for doing this study and sharing your results! I always knew MB was less than S&S but didn't realize how Hannaford's prices were more in line with MB. I shop at the MB in Middleton and have found the best time to avoid crowds is when they open....7 a.m.!

Great post. Thank you so much for doing this! I've never been to Hannafords. I'll definitely try it based on your pleasant experience. I regularly shop at the Middleton Market Basket. Their bathrooms could do with a clean up! I only shop at the North Reading Stop & Shop when I'm in a rush. I never do a full shop there. It's just so much more expensive. And the parking lot is a nightmare. (Although the Middleton Market Basket's really isn't that much better.)

Thank you, Theresa, for the update on the Middleton Market Basket! Good to know.

So I attempted to try Hannaford's this weekend. But in my mind Hannaford's was called Roche Brothers. Started shoping and realized I must be in the wrong store. Pulled up my phone to read this article and discovered that Hannaford's was definately not Roche. I will try again this weekend.

Melee, I'm sorry to laugh at your mistake, but that is funny. I don't even know where there is a Roche brothers near N.R. Good luck with your next trip!

On a slight tangent, I just came across a story in the Fiscal Times from April 2012 which highlights a Consumer Reports' ranking of the 12 worst supermarkets in America in which Stop & Shop came in 12th with Shaw's at #3 (and in a case of be careful what you wish for, WalMart supercenter came in at #2). You can read the full article here. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Media/Slideshow/2012/04/13/12-Worst-Supermarkets-in-America.aspx
...

Thank you, Fred - perfect tangent! Would love to see the survey questions that Consumer Reports used.

I couldn't find the survey but did find some more detail. I can't link to them here and can't get to the fine detail, but can share the following summary info. The survey contained feedback about 52 supermarket chains, Four of the criteria were: service, perishables, price & cleanliness. Scores range from 5 (excellent) to 1 (Worst). Stores from our area scored as follows, with their overall ranking in parentheses
Wegman's (1): 5/5/4/5
Trader Joe's (2): 5/4/5/5
Costco (5): 3/5/5/5
MarketBasket (7): 4/4/5/4
Whole Foods (12): 4/5/1/5
Hannaford (19): 4/4/4/5
Target (22): 3/3/4/5
Sam's Club (33): 2/4/5/4
BJ's (34): 2/3/5/3
Stop & Shop (41): 3/3/3/4
Shaw's (50): 3/3/2/4
WalMart (51): 1/2/5/3

Hope you find this interesting.

Ron, I used my wife's CR account, but still couldn't find the survey details. If you know how to dig it up, let me know because I'd really like to see it. In the meantime, I realize there's some sort of weighting that impacts the overall score, but I thought folks would be interested in the first-level ratings.

Trader Joes is the Market Basket of Whole Foods