Our price comparisons and ratings of stores for quality show the results of our market-basket price survey and our most recent surveys of consumers on supermarket quality and service. Here are some key findings— 

The area’s price standouts were WinCo and Walmart Supercenter. 

Compared to average prices at Albertsons, QFC, and Safeway, the prices we found were substantially lower at the stores we surveyed for WinCo (23 percent lower than the Albertsons/QFC/Safeway average) and Walmart Supercenter (22 percent lower than the Albertsons/QFC/Safeway average). For a family that spends $150 per week at the supermarket, this 22-to-23-percent price difference might be expected to total over $1,700 during the course of a year. 

Among the area’s four largest chains—Albertsons, Fred Meyer, QFC, and Safeway—Fred Meyer was the clear price winner. 

Fred Meyer’s prices for our full market basket at the stores we surveyed were 12 to 15 percent lower than the prices we found at the QFC stores we surveyed, six to eight percent lower than the prices at the Albertsons stores we surveyed, and five to eight percent lower than the prices we found at the Safeway stores we surveyed. A 12-percent difference might be expected to result in a savings of more than $900 per year by shopping at Fred Meyer for a family that would otherwise spend $150 per week at QFC. 

Prices at surveyed stores for QFC were the highest among the area’s four largest chains. 

QFC’s prices were about eight percent higher than the average prices found at Albertsons and Safeway. Within-chain store-to-store price differences were for the most part small for each of the big chains. 

On the quality side, Albertsons, Fred Meyer, Safeway, and WinCo rated at the bottom of the list for “quality of fresh produce,” “quality of meats,” and “overall quality.” 

In a limited survey of CHECKBOOK’s online subscribers, QFC received the highest overall ratings among the big four chains; Albertsons received the lowest. On our “overall quality” question, 52 percent of QFC’s customers rated it “superior,” compared to 46 percent for Fred Meyer, 39 percent for Safeway, and 25 percent for Albertsons. 

For overall quality, small operators scored highest on our survey of consumers. 

Thriftway was rated “superior” overall by 93 percent of its surveyed customers, Central Market by 90 percent, and Metropolitan Market by 83 percent. 

Unfortunately, the three stores that scored highest for overall quality all had prices that were among the highest in our survey. 

Central Market’s prices were 13 percent higher than the average of the four big chains, Thriftway’s prices were 16 percent higher, and Metropolitan Market’s were 21 percent higher. 

The highest prices among stores we surveyed were found at Whole Foods Market. 

Whole Foods’ prices were 55 percent higher than the average of prices at the area’s four largest chains—for the limited number of comparable items we could find at each chain. On the other hand, Whole Foods consistently gets very high scores from its customers on our surveys on quality of fresh produce and meat, and many of the items we could compare between Whole Foods and the other chains were fresh produce and meat items. (See our article on Buying Organic Food for more discussion of costs of organic food.) 

Trader Joe’s overall ratings from our customer survey were considerably higher than the ratings of any of the big chains, yet we found its prices aren’t necessarily higher. 

Since the market basket we used for our price survey is largely made up of national-brand products, and because Trader Joe’s offers only its own brands, we couldn’t include it in our standard price comparisons that are based on our standard market basket of items. Instead, we had to shop Trader Joe’s using a special survey. In this survey, we included the same fresh produce, meats, and dairy items as we use in our standard survey. For the national-brand items on our list, we first compared the prices of Trader Joe’s store brands to the prices charged by the conventional supermarkets for the comparable national-brand items in our market basket. Then, for a second comparison, we compared Trader Joe’s prices to those charged by the supermarkets for the least expensive comparable item of any brand (including generic brands) they carried. (When comparing prices, we used per-unit pricing—for example, price per ounce.) 

The table below shows the results of these comparisons. 

• In our comparison of Trader Joe’s prices versus the prices of comparable, national-brand items, we found that Trader Joe’s prices were about seven percent lower than the average prices found at the big chains—or, roughly equal to those we found at Fred Meyer. 
• When we compared Trader Joe’s prices to the big-chain average, assuming a shopper would buy at a conventional supermarket the cheapest brand (or generic brand) comparable to each item in our market basket, Trader Joe’s price advantage disappeared when compared against all of the big chains except QFC. (Keep in mind that this second comparison doesn’t take into account product quality, and Trader Joe’s received higher overall ratings from its customers than any of the large chains.) 
• For produce, Trader Joe’s prices for the items it carried were lower than the prices of any of the big chains. 
• For meat, however, Trader Joe’s prices were higher than the prices of any of the big chains except QFC. 
• Shopping at Trader Joe’s won’t save you money compared to the savings you’d get by shopping at the area’s lowest priced stores. For example, we found that, when comparing Trader Joe’s prices to those at WinCo for comparable, national-brand items, Trader Joe’s prices were about 21 percent higher. 

Many Trader Joe’s shoppers will have to supplement their trips to its stores with visits to conventional supermarkets. 

The Trader Joe’s store we surveyed had only 32 percent of the items in our market basket in stock when we shopped it. 

When shopping stores that offer store brand or generic products, you save by substituting these products for national brands. 

When we allowed the substitution of cheaper generic and store brands for about one-sixth of the items in our price-shopping market basket, the total cost for our market basket dropped by about six percent, on average, at the big chains. 

For the items that could be compared, based on unit prices (price per pound, for example), the warehouse stores we surveyed offered dramatic savings. 

The surveyed Sam’s Club store, for example, beat the QFC store we compared it to by a whopping 38 percent. And compared to that QFC store, the savings were about 36 percent at the Costco store we surveyed. 

Since you can’t typically get everything you need at a warehouse store, we looked at the savings you might gain by shopping at both a warehouse store and at a supermarket, assuming you would purchase the lowest cost size available at either place. We found, for example, that by including Costco on your shopping schedule along with a QFC store, you might save about 18 percent compared with shopping at the QFC store alone. 

For more information on how warehouse stores compared on price, go to our section Buying in Bulk: Shopping at Warehouse Stores.