Save at the Supermarket

“How to Save at the Supermarket.”
Feeling the squeeze at the grocery store? These in-store perks and programs can make your weekly food run less painful.

Despite the popularity of online delivery services, most food shoppers in the U.S. still go to stores to buy groceries. And to keep us coming, stores both big and small are innovating in ways that are significantly changing—and often improving—the food shopping experience.

New technology is one source of the changes. There are shopping carts that weigh your produce for you. Store coupons that appear on your phone. Palm readers that connect the veins in your hand to your credit card number.

But supermarkets are also expanding loyalty and coupon programs, offering more high-quality and lower-cost house brands, and providing accommodations and conveniences that make food shopping less of a hassle. Some are even luring us in with experiences—the opportunity, for instance, to meet up with a friend at a smoothie bar, as you can at the Erewhon grocery store chain in Southern California.

Of course, for most of us, price is a major motivator when deciding where to shop for food. You don’t need government data to confirm what your receipts already show. Food inflation is up an estimated 3 percent in 2025 vs. 2024, on top of a rise of nearly 30 percent from February 2020 to the present, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s even higher than the 25 percent overall inflation rate for the same period.

The market shock of the pandemic, ongoing supply chain problems, rising labor costs, tariff threats, and the Avian flu outbreak—there are many reasons food prices continue to rise. You can add to those shrinkflation, price gouging, and other suspect practices. Just one example: An investigation by CR and other news outlets published in May found that allegedly widespread price-tag errors resulted in shoppers at Kroger’s paying full price at checkout for dozens of food items that had been advertised as discounted or on sale.

More Information at:
https://www.consumerreports.org/money/grocery-stores-supermarkets/save-big-at-the-supermarket-a1165260654/