Saving Money at the Supermarket- Week 3

Posted by admin on June 22, 2007 in Money Saving Techniques

Here are week 3 results of my little experiment at the supermarket. The rules are stated here and week 1 and 2 results here and here respectively. As a weekly experiment there hasn’t been too many changes from week to week. I did hit my first sales item in tissue but it doesn’t seemed to have altered the fundamental trend arising. Here are the results for this week:

Baked Beans (398 ml can)

Ideal location- $1.19 (Heinz)
Less ideal location- $0.79 (Compliments)
Difference- $0.30
% Difference- 21

No change from last week.

Olive Oil (1 Litre bottle)

Ideal location- $10.79 (Bertolii)
Less ideal location- $7.99 (Carapelli)
Difference- $2.80
% Difference- 26 *

No change from last week.

I am putting a huge asterisks here again though- the products have no ideal or non-ideal location- located on same shelf. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have used corn oil or vegetable oil instead.

Snack Bars (175g box)

Ideal location-$3.19 (Kellogg’s Nutri Grain)
Less ideal location- $2.99 (Quaker Chewy Bar)
Difference- $0.20
% Difference- 6

No change from last week.

Shampoo

Ideal location- $2.19 (Finesse, 330 ml)
Less ideal location- $1.99 (European Formula, 350 ml)
Difference- $0.20
% Difference-9

No change from last week.

Tissue

Ideal location- $1.99 (130 sheets of 3 ply tissue by Kleenex)
Less ideal location- $1.29 (140 sheets of 3 ply tissue by Royale Ultra)
Difference- $0.70
% Difference-35

The only change this week. The ideal location tissue was on sale and the less ideal location price also declined. The price difference expressed as a percentage decreased by 5%. However, I would attribute this decrease to the sale of the tissue in the ideal location more than anything else.

It is pretty clear with one week to go that location clearly makes a difference when it comes to pricing. As I stated last week, I am surprised that a staple like beans has as large a price difference. It also appears that the result in olive oil has to be thrown out. Next week we finalize the experiment and report on results. Have a great weekend.

4 Comments on Saving Money at the Supermarket- Week 3

By Re: money » This and That on June 25, 2007 at 2:22 am

[...] enjoy Thicken My Wallet’s reports on how to save money at the supermarket. Not so much for the savings tips, but for the [...]

By This and That: Blog Edition on June 28, 2007 at 7:31 pm

[...] supermarket by buying a product located at a non-ideal location. You can check his latest results here and [...]

By rob on June 30, 2007 at 12:12 am

There is a substantial difference in quality between Compliments beans and Heinz. Also the Heinz and other National brands pay for the ideal location, they may pay in cash, by a discount, by volume purchase etc. You should compare a national brand with a national brand. Not a national brand with an Inhouse or store brand. It is like comparing apples with oranges.

By admin on June 30, 2007 at 10:33 am

Rob- Thanks for the comment. I do not disagree. However, if you read week 1′s post, I ran into a structural issue. My supermarket simply does not carry another name brand in baked beans and I will have to factor that into my final observations. Thanks.