Trying to maximize your grocery budget when you head to the store? You might want to take a closer look at the price tag next time you're wandering the aisles.
Food-at-home prices, also known as grocery store or supermarket purchases, are expected to rise one percent overall in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. But what are the current costs of items locally?
The StarNews visited a variety of chain grocery stores located across Wilmington in an effort to compare typical grocery item prices. Though our investigation wasn't scientific, we stopped by seven major grocery chains. Our findings might help you make more informed decisions on your next shopping trip.
What stores did we visit?
The StarNews visited seven major grocery chains located throughout Wilmington for our comparison.
- Walmart Supercenter
- 8035 Market St.
- Trader Joe's
- 1437 S. College Road
- Harris Teeter
- 2800 S. College Road
What items were on our grocery list?
The price of five staple grocery items were compared across the seven Wilmington stores:
- One gallon of 2% milk
- One dozen white eggs
- A standard-sized loaf of white bread
- One whole watermelon
- One pound of 80% lean ground beef
How did the prices compare?
In terms of overall cost, ALDI was by far the cheapest option, totaling $13.27 for the five items on our shopping list. ALDI was also the cheapest option for milk, eggs, bread, watermelon, and ground beef when priced individually.
Ranking highest for overall cost was Harris Teeter, with a total of $23.65. Harris Teeter ranked highest in pricing for watermelon, though with a Harris Teeter VIC card, shoppers could save $2 on this item alone.
It's important to note that many grocery stores included in our comparison have rewards programs that could make items cheaper for members -- sometimes significantly so. However, for the purpose of this comparison, we used prices without rewards program discounts.
StoreMilkEggsBreadWatermelonGround beefTotal
Walmart Supercenter$2.48$2.68$1.42$6.96$5.93$19.47
Food Lion$2.81$1.89$2.39$5.99$5.29$18.37
Trader Joe's$3.99$2.49$1.99$5.99$4.99$19.45
Publix$3.29$2.69$1.86$5.99$6.76$20.59
Harris Teeter$3.19$3.49$1.99$8.99$5.99$23.65
ALDI$2.46$1.64$0.79$4.59$3.79$13.27
Lowes Foods$2.99$2.79$1.99$7.99$7.49$23.25
Average$3.03$2.52$1.78$6.36$5.75$19.44
Grocery list price comparison between seven major grocery chains in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Store brands of items were used for the comparison when available. However, some stores did not offer their own brand for some items on our list. For example, Trader Joe's only carries Sauder's brand white eggs by the dozen. In this and similar cases, the available item was used for the price comparison.
Some stores, including ALDI, Harris Teeter, and Publix, did not sell ground beef by exact one-pound quantities. In these cases, the unit price per pound was calculated for the comparison.
Across the seven stores, the average price of groceries for the five items on our shopping list totaled $19.44.
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