A Half-Assed Comparison of Target and Wal-Mart Grocery Prices

The Super Target has finally opened in the greatly expanded shopping center across the highway from our apartment. (How I still wish they had gone with the obvious and ironic name Le Grande Target.) Because Robert and I had a short grocery shopping list for the week, we decided last night it was a good time to check out the Target.

Leaving out the 4 items from our receipt that I could not identify looking at it today (with 2 helpfully listed as "Kraft"), here is what we purchased, comparing prices to Wal-Mart (taken from receipts during the past month) where possible.

Leaf lettuce - $1.99 - 38% higher than WM
Asparagus - $3.49/lb - 19% higher than WM
Oroweat whole grain oatnut bread - $3.39 - 12% higher than WM
Kleenex 3 pack - $4.19 - 11% higher than WM
Brummel & Brown - $1.72 - same as WM
Aunt Jemima wheat pancake mix - $1.92 - same as WM

Dr Pepper 12 pack - $3.33 - buying 2 is 11% higher than WM's 24 pack

Italian parsley - $0.79 - 72% higher than WM's cilantro (which is generally about the same as the parsley)

Archer Farms frozen peaches - $2.79 - 45% higher than WM's store brand
Archer Farms deli turkey - $6.85/lb - 34% higher than WM (national brand, do not recall it) [I had a sandwich for lunch today and can attest that the two kinds taste very similar, but that I think I prefer the one from WM]
Archer Farms bag of salad - $2.79 - 4% higher than WM (national brand, do not recall it)

Eggs, one dozen - $1.32 - 11% lower than WM

Target had a total of two options for cayenne pepper: available in a small quantity along with a couple of other compatible spices for $5 and a normal (small-ish) jar of organic cayenne pepper for $9. This was so crazy expensive we didn't buy any.

Target also did not carry the Sun Maid golden raisins that I prefer ($2.22 for the large box at WM) so I got a bag of their Archer Farms "premium" dried cherries and golden raisins for $2.79 (for a smaller quantity). They are quite good, but not worth the extra expense.

Target and Wal-Mart both suck in their selection of peanut oil. Robert did not buy any at WM the last time because they only had a large bottle; however, Target sells a small bottle for about the same price ($7.54), which we did buy.

Target did come through on a couple of things that are not stocked at the Wal-Mart: Morningstar Farms mini corn dogs (which WM used to sell but not anymore) - $2.99, Buitoni whole wheat tortellini - $2.99, and a box of oat bran (carried only very briefly by WM and that we have been buying at HEB for $2.49) - $2.64.

Wal-Mart prices were not available for: Morningstar Farms breakfast sausage ($2.99), Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Celery soup ($0.92 on sale), Smuckers jelly ($2.49), Polaner sugar free preserves ($2.99).

Overall, the store appears to be geared toward people who want fast, semi-upscale-seeming meals and snacks, while the selection of "ingredient" type foods for putting meals together is limited compared to Wal-Mart. (For instance, Robert pointed out the laughably small canned vegetable and fruit section.) However, they have a number of quite tasty-looking (but not particularly healthy) prepared foods that would be easy to take home in lieu of stopping at a restaurant or fast food joint.

The Archer Farms house brand was absolutely everywhere. They offer an impressive array of frozen foods, snacks, dessert mixes, etc., for somewhat more money than the more prosaic versions at Wal-Mart (I didn't compare any of the Archer Farms with the national brands stocked by Target, though this side-by-side would be easy enough to do on many of the items). Robert thought that the Target's produce looked fresher than we typically see at Wal-Mart, but because shopping on a Monday night is such a rarity, it's hard to know whether this is a function of the timing since restocking. Target's produce definitely comes at a premium. In general, prices were higher, except for a few national brand items, where they matched Wal-Mart precisely.

In the check out line, we were behind a couple purchasing two frozen pizzas and a baking mix (for making brownies or some kind of sweet), which seems like a very 'typical' consumer, based on the kinds of products that are available.

They are sort of evil with their endcaps, promoting their house brand chocolates and other high calorie treats (that no doubt have nice, high markups). We heard one girl calling to her mom, who was looking at items in the aisle, "Mommy, look what I found" over and over; she had found a bunch of candy positioned at kiddy eye level at the end of the aisle.

The woman at the deli who sliced our turkey took forever to do the job; she was slow to come to the counter to help us and then it was almost impossible to believe that a person could work so slowly in doing the slicing. (At one point, Robert whispered, "Look, we're up to 0.65 pounds!" and I was sort of relieved.) I can only hope that it was her first day on the job.

We are not going to be replacing Wal-Mart with Target as our primary grocery store, for a combination of primarily price and secondarily selection, though it will be a good place to pick up items that aren't available at Wal-Mart and for the occasional something different. (Or as Robert put it, "This won't be our fast ball, but it will make for a change up.")