This past Tuesday, I wanted to see if going to the Customer Appreciation day (typically the first tuesday of every month for Save-On Foods, Sobey's, and Safeway ) would actually save a shopper more money than normal weekend savings. I compared the same grocery list with the one I created on Family Day weekend and compared it to our weekly el cheapo winners Costco and Superstore.
I've also added The Real Canadian Wholesale into the comparison; Lowblaw's answer to Costco to see if there were any real savings going there too for our weekly groceries.
Also in the mix is Loblaw's No Frills Supermarket; there's only one location in Edmonton and one in Fort Saskatchewan and Leduc. I wanted to see if it was worthwhile to made the drive out of my day to save a few more bucks considering food in general is skyrocketing these days.
Our cart would cost $206.10 on March 1st taking advantage of Save-On's 15% off Tuesday compared to $250.23 on Family Day weekend 2 weeks earlier. As shown on my chart above, for the same grocery cart, going on 15% off Tuesday at Save-On Foods, would indeed save you money on a typical Save-On Foods weekend outing but still does not save one as much as Superstore's or Costco's regular savings. Some separate items were cheaper such as lean ground beef and a 24 cube of Pepsi but items such as meat were more expensive even with the 15% discount added.
Going to the Real Canadian Wholesale came out cheaper than Save-On Foods on their Customer Appreciation Tuesday too; it was also cheaper than a regular shopping stint at Sobey's, Safeway, and Walmart costing $216.80 for our shopping cart. Some things again were very cheap at the Wholesale such as lean ground beef, bananas, and cereal. But the trouble with going there is often you have to buy large quantities like 6 or more to get the cheapest price; but if you ever need a 50kg bag of sugar or a 4gallon drum of pickles, the Real Canadian Wholesale is for you! Remember though, cash or debit only; no credits cards accepted.
No Frills was also comparable in price to Superstore and Costco. In fact, if you take away the bulk buying of Claritin and Advil from the list, No Frills would be our clear winner. But is it worth the drive? Not really. Plus, the clientele is pretty well... worse than Walmart if you know what I mean. I have a friend who shops there regularly because he lives closeby and while there are some great deals, a lot of items are picked through or sold out; in addition the stories about the people who shop there are second to none: He claims he has never had anyone crash into him with another shopping cart at any other supermarket but at No Frills, it's a regular occurrence; plus don't walk too far away from your cart or you'll find the people there will pick through your cart and put items in their shopping carts!
This weekend's deals (there are a few items worth going out of your way to pick up..):
Save-On Foods: Lean ground beef- 2.2kg chub for $10; strawberries 2lb for $3.89; chicken thighs w/skin 2.1kg for $10; chicken legs w/ back attached $3.28/ kg; Coke or Pepsi 12 x 355mL cans- 2 for $9; pork side ribs- $2.84/kg
Superstore: Free chicken breast 4kg box with $250 purchase; T-Bone steaks- $4.97/lb; navel oranges- 0.56/ lb.
Sobey's/ IGA: T-bone steaks- $4.99/ lb
Safeway: 100 bonus airmiles with $100 purchase; Lay's potato chips- 4 for $10; Purex bathroom tissue 15 dbl roll pack- $5.99 ea; Kellogg's Jumbo Cereal- $6.99 ea.
Costco: weekly coupon here.
No Frills: Chicken Drumsticks or thighs- $4.12 per kg; Split chicken wings- $7.69/kg; Kellogg's cereals. assorted varieties, Jumbo size- $4.99 each.
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