Locale is key to best prices

Both are supermarkets owned by Shaw's, but don't expect to find the same deals at each. Guess which store has lower prices?

Guess again.

A comparison of the stores' circulars for a recent seven-day period, Oct. 24-30, found that shoppers at the Sudbury Shaw's would have paid $12.55 for eight selected items - steak, boneless chicken breast, ice cream, apples, grape tomatoes, pasta sauce, a 12-pack of soda, and crackers - while shoppers at the Shaw's-owned Star Market in Waltham would have paid $16.39 for the same list, or nearly 31 percent more.

Last week's circulars illustrate the same thing: You could buy two packages of toilet paper in Sudbury for $10; in Waltham, they would cost you $12. There were similar price disparities for spinach, yogurt, and sirloin.

A Globe review of weekly circulars late last month at these and dozens of other Shaw's and Stop & Shop stores in Greater Boston reveals that even within a supermarket chain, prices vary widely from store to store. As the Sudbury-Waltham comparison shows, prices are not higher or lower for reasons one might expect. Indeed, supermarket companies cite nearby competition as the greatest determinant.

For charts comparing sale prices at area Shaw's and Stop & Shop stores, see page 13.

Still, the fact that shoppers can find the same items for different prices throughout the same supermarket chains came as a surprise to some consumers.

``I never even thought about it,'' said Tracy St. Pierre, a Marlborough resident who had just finished shopping at the Sudbury Shaw's one day last week.

Joe Ashmore, who lives in Connecticut but travels in the area on business, stopped in the Sudbury Shaw's on Wednesday because he had shopped in the Shaw's in Auburn the day before and liked the prices there. ``I thought the same store would put the same specials on no matter what. Especially a chain,'' Ashmore said.

Told that a Globe survey of several items found that the Sudbury Shaw's had the lowest prices of any Shaw's in the area, Ashmore replied, ``So it worked out well for me.''

The Waltham circular does apply to more affluent communities, too, including Newton and Wellesley.

Several shoppers at the Star Market on River Street in Waltham said Wednesday that they knew that supermarket chains charge different prices depending on where a store is. But even those who knew about the price differences had figured that the Star Market in Waltham was among the cheapest - not among the most expensive.

``This part of Waltham is certainly less affluent than Sudbury,'' said Pat Davis, a Watertown resident, after being shown circulars from Waltham and Sudbury. ``Realistically, I think they should be the same no matter what, but I would have understood them being the other way. It's not fair.''

Shopping in Sudbury, Sharon Johnson had that reaction, too.

``It's not right,'' she said. ``What's good for one is good for another. I don't understand why they do that.''

Spokesmen for both Shaw's and Stop & Shop told the Globe that competition tends to determine prices, so that if another supermarket is nearby, the prices are likely to be lower.

``Each marketplace has different competition. We price competitively to give customers the best value in each marketplace,'' said Faith Weiner, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop.

On the surface, however, that does not appear to hold true in the case of Sudbury and Waltham. Both have significant nearby competition.

The entrance to the parking lot at Sudbury Shaw's is only about three- 10ths of a mile down Route 20 from another supermarket, Sudbury Farms, which is operated by Roche Brothers. The Star Market in Waltham, which was to close and be replaced late last week by a new Shaw's several doors down, was less than a half-mile from another supermarket, a Super Stop & Shop, just over the line in Watertown.

Terry Donilon, director of public relations for Shaw's, said he would not address marketing strategy at individual stores, but he noted that the company is working hard to win new customers and retain old ones at stores that have gone through renovations recently, as the Sudbury Shaw's has.

Donilon also said pricing at individual stores depends not only on whether there is competition in the area, but also on what the competition is doing. ``Each store is different. We like to think of each store as having a unique perspective,'' he said.

A Globe survey of four items in a Stop & Shop circular dated Oct. 26 to Nov. 1 found that the stores in Franklin, Hudson, and Milford had the lowest prices ($6.28), while locations in Natick and Shrewsbury, and the two stores each in Framingham and Westborough, had the highest prices ($7.38).

In general, the Globe comparison found that shoppers west of Boston pay higher prices at the supermarkets surveyed than shoppers south or north of the city.

Not all supermarket companies differentiate their pricing. But it is common to see stores within the same chain vary their prices by location, said Katherine Harris, assistant professor of marketing at Babson College in Wellesley, who studies consumer behavior, services marketing, and corporate social responsibility. Typical factors include the cost of doing business in a particular area, the level of competition nearby, and whether potential customers who live nearby lack transportation and thus would have a hard time going to another store.

There is nothing illegal about charging different prices in different places in a free market, Harris noted, but she also pointed out that such pricing systems are often based at least in part on the assumption that customers do not know about them. Customers who find out that they are paying more in one store when they could be paying less in another often are not happy, she said.

``There can be quite a backlash,'' Harris said. ``It may be legal but it may not be good business, because you're going to tick people off.''

Upon reflection Wednesday afternoon, St. Pierre, the Sudbury shopper, attributed the price differences among stores in the same chain to the simple principles of supply and demand.

``It's all marketing - whatever you can get,'' she said. ``I guess making people aware, maybe they'll look.''

Sale prices at Shaw's . . .

A comparison of sale prices from a recent circular (Oct. 24 to 30) for various Shaw's supermarkets in the western suburbs shows disparities among chain locations. Listed by store, here is the total price for eight sale items advertised in the circular: Angus top round steak, Shaw's boneless chicken breast, Edy's ice cream, Washington State apples, grape tomatoes, Prego pasta sauce, Pepsi 12-pack, and Pepperidge Farm crackers.

Location and Price

Medfield $14.57

Milford $14.57

Newton, Austin Street $16.39

Newton, Boylston Street $16.39

Newton, Commonwealth Avenue $16.39

Shrewsbury $14.57

Stow $14.57

Sudbury $12.55

Waltham, Lexington Street $16.39

Waltham, River Street $16.39

Wellesley $16.39

. . . and at Stop & Shop

A comparison of sale prices for a recent circular (Oct. 26 to Nov. 1) for Stop & Shop supermarkets also shows differences among chain locations. Here is the total price for three sale items advertised in the circular: a 2-liter bottle of Coke, Bumblebee tuna fish four-pack, and Friendly's ice cream.

Location and Price

Framingham, Old Connecticut Path $7.38

Framingham, Temple Street $7.38

Franklin $6.28

Hudson $6.28

Milford $6.28

Natick $7.38

Shrewsbury $7.38

Watertown, Pleasant Street $6.77

Watertown, Watertown Street $6.77

Westborough, Lyman Street $7.38

Westborough, Turnpike Road $7.38