State survey finds wide price range among groceries
If you’ve ever had a disagreement with someone over whether there’s really a difference in prices at different grocery stores, a survey by the state Office of Consumer Affairs should settle it.
The office shopped at 34 Shaw’s, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford grocery stores in the Boston area and Central Massachusetts, buying the same items with dramatically different results at the register. The final bills ranged from $46.85 at a Hannaford in Quincy to $82.55 at a Shaw’s in Boston — a 76 percent difference.
The chains sorted themselves out neatly in the survey, too. Hannaford was the cheapest, followed by Stop & Shop. Shaw’s stores, with the exception of one store in Quincy, had the highest prices.
A Shaw’s spokesman said the company has plenty of saving opportunities for its customers.
“At Shaw’s, we recognize that consumers’ budgets continue to be stretched, and we are committed to providing the best value we can to our customers through great sales, everyday double coupons, and creative promotions,’’ Steve Sylven said, citing a recent free turkey promotion that required customers to spend $500.
The survey was not intended to be comprehensive and omitted some of the big regional discount grocers and premium stores. Consumer Affairs said it found that in general, urban stores are pricier than suburban stores.
The Consumer Affairs grocery list included milk, eggs, orange juice, peanut butter, bread, baby food, cereal, soda, coffee, cookies, tuna, flour, sugar, stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey, corn, and canned pumpkin.
To have such fluctuations at the end of the shopping trip, a lot significant disparities were found along the way. The biggest disparity found was for a 10-pound turkey. The cheapest in the survey was $9.90 at a Hannaford and a Stop & Shop, while buying one at several different Shaw’s was nearly $25.
Mitch Lipka is the Consumer Ally for AOL’s WalletPop.com and lives in Worcester. He can be reached at ConsumerNews@Aol.com. 
