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Cheapest Grocery Stores

If You Don't Have A Salvage Grocery Store Near You

Salvage grocery stores, also known as Bent 'n Dent stores or Banana Box stores, sell groceries at prices that are much lower than the prices at mainstream grocery stores — often by 50% or more — making them the cheapest grocery stores you're likely to find.

Other Places to Find Cheap Groceries

If you don't have a salvage grocery store near you, you can find grocery bargains at dollar stores and discount stores. These stores sell some of the same products that are sold at salvage grocery stores such as close dated, outdated, overstock and discontinued shelf stable foods.

According to a study from experts at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (published January 2023), dollar stores are the fastest-growing food retailers by household expenditure share, having doubled their share of grocery sales in rural areas.

BIG SAVINGS ON GROCERY ITEMS AT DOLLAR TREE

Dollar stores sell national name brands of your favorite snacks for only a dollar, and they're also great places to find unusual imported foods, discontinued items, and exclusive products — usually at cheap prices.

Dollar Tree Grocery Challenge 7 Family Dinners for $20 — Larry, Hope and their sons teach families practical frugality and living with a spirit of joy and abundance on their Under the Median YouTube channel

Some of the products you buy at these stores might be close to or past their expiration date, but will still be safe to eat. Foods not exhibiting signs of spoilage should be wholesome and may be sold, purchased and consumed beyond the labeled “Best if Used By” date. Read the article Food Product Dating for more information about expiration dates.

Amish Bulk Food Stores

Wherever there's an Amish community, you're almost guaranteed to find an Amish grocery store that sells bulk foods. Grains, beans, spices, candies and other dry goods are packaged in bags and containers and sold at bargain prices.

Which Grocery Stores Have the Cheapest Prices?

Salvage grocery stores and dollar stores have a limited selection of products and their inventories can change on a weekly or daily basis. It's very unlikely that you'll be able to find all of your weekly grocery needs at any one of these stores, so you'll have to do at least some of your shopping at a traditional grocery store. The stores listed below are the cheapest places to do your grocery shopping and are listed in order from lowest priced store at the top to the highest priced store at the bottom.

Cheapest Grocery Stores 2023

Source: Dunnhumby’s 2023 Sixth Annual Retailer Preference Index for US Grocery.

Aldi

Aldi comes in at first place as the food retailer with the lowest prices for the sixth year in a row. Fresh produce that's delivered daily, fresh meats and fish, and an extensive line of organic, gluten-free and vegan foods can be found at Aldi stores throughout the US (no stores in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington or Wyming). You'll find the best deals on bread, milk, yogurt, cereals, baking essentials, fresh produce, canned goods, cheese and wine. Read Aldi Tips, Tricks & Meal Plans to find everything you need to know when shopping at Aldi.

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WinCo Foods

WinCo is a no-frills grocery chain that buys much of its food directly from manufacturers and farmers — keeping costs down by eliminating the middleman. Many products, such as coffee, grains, snacks and pastas are sold in bulk and can be purchased by the pound, and a good selection of herbs and spices can be purchased by the ounce. You'll have to bag your own groceries and only cash and debit cards are accepted as payment. View specials and find locations at www.wincofoods.com.

Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet has operates more than 400 stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. This "extreme value" supermarket has been described as "the TJMaxx of grocery stores" and they keep their loyal customers returning for the warehouse store-like prices without the membership fees. You'll find affordable groceries and big savings on brand name items, but you'll have to be flexible when it comes to your shopping list since Grocery Outlet is, in many ways, a salvage grocery store. View specials and find locations at www.groceryoutlet.com.

Market Basket

Considered to be New England's bargain grocery chain, the motto at Market Basket is "more for your dollar." The best deals can be found on store branded items such as snacks, chips, sodas, peanut butter and cheese. Some locations have a "Market's Kitchen" serving up salads, sub sandwiches, pizza, burgers, chicken wings, fried chicken and more. View specials and find locations at www.shopmarketbasket.com.

Food4Less

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Food4Less operates about 50 no-frills grocery stores in Southern California, Illinois, Indiana, and Nevada. A division of grocery giant Kroger, the company offers deeply discounted groceries, fresh produce, bakery and dairy items, ethnic foods, and meat. Select locations also include gas stations, photo processing, pharmacies, and wellness services. According to research by Eat This, Not That, Food4Less is the most popular chain of grocery stores within California. Get coupons, view specials and find locations at www.food4less.com.

Lidl

Lidl has an excellent fresh produce selection as well as a very impressive fresh bakery where you'll find ciabattas, focaccias, and rustic loaves made on site (that can be sliced to order) along with muffins, croissants artisan breads, oversized cookies, yeast doughnuts, and more. Around 80% of what Lidl carries comes from its own private label. Since Lidl is an international grocery store, they bring in lots of products from other countries: pasta from Italy, chocolate from Germany and cured meats from Spain. They also carry familiar brands like Jif and Coca-Cola, but availability will vary and name brand product availability won't be consistent. Lidl also has an award-winning wine department that has won more than 200 industry awards. Most of the stores offer about 80 wines at any given time. In 2019, Lidl was ranked as the third best supermarket by Food & Wine, which was based upon overall shopper experience. When shopping at Lidl be sure to bring your own bags, otherwise you'll have to pay for them or go without. View specials and find locations at www.lidl.com.

Save-A-Lot

Save-A-Lot keeps their prices low by selling only the most purchased items and selling their own brands. In the words of Save-A-Lot communications manager Dan Kimack: "We carry one size and one variety of each item. If it's a can of whole-kernel corn, it's going to be one size and one variety — and it's going to be the most popular size and variety." View specials and find locations at www.savealot.com.

Price Rite Marketplace

Price Rite Marketplace is a chain of supermarkets found in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Owned by the same corporation that owns Shop Rite stores, Price Rite is a limited-assortment, deep-discount supermarket meant to compete with no-frills grocery stores such as Aldi, Lidl, and Save-a-Lot. The older Price Rite stores don't have the service departments found in most conventional modern supermarkets, such as Deli, Bakery, Meat, and Seafood — these departments are replaced by pre-packaged offerings prepared at centralized facilities which reduces costs. View specials and find locations at www.priceritemarketplace.com.

Walmart

Walmart is the largest food retailer in the US, with over 3,500 supercenters across the country. Grocery sales account for over half of Walmart's total annual sales, totaling $200 billion each year. You'll find the best deals on items sold under its Great Value brand, name brand cereals and snacks, frozen produce, paper goods, pantry staples, toiletries, laundry detergents and cleaning supplies. According to Consumer Reports, Walmart consistently ranks toward the bottom of their listing of supermarket chains in terms of the quality of fresh foods and vegetables, meats, store-prepared foods and baked goods. View specials and find locations at www.walmart.com.

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Marc's

Marc's Stores is a discount drugstore and grocery chain with stores in northern and central Ohio. Marc's targets the value conscious family shopper. You'll find name brand merchandise in the groceries, health & beauty and general merchandise categories. Marc's closeouts is one of the store's most popular departments and features the best buys that Marc's buyers can find worldwide. The chain has over 60 stores in the Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Columbus, and Dayton areas. View specials and find locations at www.marcs.com.

Consumers tend to be loyal to their supermarkets, but that could be costly because prices from one retailer to the next can vary by a lot. With grocery bills up nearly 6.7 percent year over year, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, any savings can help, even if it means going somewhere new.  

“Prices are a function of a lot of factors,” says Ravi Anupindi, a professor of operations, research and management at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Walmart is a big retailer and thus can exercise its market power to extract better prices from suppliers and pass them onto customers. Smaller retailers do not have that much market power.”  

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The variety on store shelves, the quality of the food, handling and labor costs, competition and the demographic of the shopper all play into the prices a particular retailer charges. Stores that cater to lower-income shoppers tend to keep prices lower, while supermarkets that have a lot of variety may have higher prices as a result. 

​Either way, consumers have a lot of options when filling their shopping carts with groceries. There are discount stores where you can get big bargains on select items, traditional grocery stores that amp up the savings by offering generics and loyalty programs, and one-stop shops where you can get everything from bread to batteries in one place. Proximity to the store and the type of food you purchase will play a role in how much you save. But all things being equal, in some categories, location is everything when it comes to getting a deal.​ To illustrate how much, we went shopping. Armed with a list of 30 grocery items, we visited Aldi, Walmart and Stop & Shop locations around Long Island, New York, to see where you can save the most on everyday purchases. The totals are based on non-sale prices and do not include coupons, loyalty discounts or taxes. Here are our results. ​

Getty Images/ AARP

    

​The Winner: Walmart 

Walmart has been a part of American culture since 1962, when the first store opened in Rogers, Arkansas. Today there are 4,684 stores across the U.S., including 3,572 Walmart Supercenters that sell everything from bedding to bread. Walmart is known for its low prices, and that is true of its groceries. Across most categories, Walmart came in first or second when it comes to price.  

“Walmart is generally in a position to take a lower markup on groceries because they’re trying to get you in so you buy higher-markup items in the rest of the store,” says Clark Howard, a consumer shopping expert and host of The Clark Howard Podcast. “Walmart can afford to do something a traditional grocer can’t do, which is take a lower markup on groceries — because they just want you in the building.”

Walmart shoppers Robert and Sherri Evans, 74 and 68

Sabrina Santiago

The ability to buy everything under one roof on the cheap appeals to many consumers, including Robert and Sherri Evans. The 74- and 68-year-old retirees say they shop at Walmart for the convenience and to save. “It’s one-stop shopping,” Robert says. “There is a lot of variety here that you don’t find at regular supermarkets, and it’s absolutely cheaper.”