Opinion: Walmart drops grocery prices, while Aldi & Dillons raise them in the latest price review

Where do you prefer to grocery shop? Aldi, Walmart, Dillons (a.k.a., the mainstream grocery store)?

Shoppers tend to be loyal to a particular store, we're creatures of habit after all. Some folks like Aldi because of the consistently low prices and name brands aren't a concern. Others favor Dillons because of the loyalty card and fuel points. Then there are those folks who do their regular grocery shopping at Walmart liking the one-stop shopping convenience for clothes, home & garden, and other general merchandise.

Grocery Store Shopping with Bachelor on the CheapPhoto byBachelor on the Cheap

Here's this month's side-by-side Wichita Metro comparison of grocery store prices for Aldi, Walmart, and Dillon's. Covering the basics with a focus on store brands, this month's list, dated August 12, 2024, has 25 items, a review of essentials for this Wichita Metro grocery shop edition.

Of note, in a same-store comparison to the previous review, dated July 9,2024, prices are mixed. Aldi shoppers would have spent $2.56 more for the same items purchased last month. Dillons shoppers paid $2.55 more, and Walmart shoppers would have spent $2.80 less with this shop. Keep in mind, Walmart usually ranks second in these reviews.

Prices stated are online prices and for items available at the time of the review. Remember that the featured items are the store brand for each respective store unless otherwise labeled. Prices can vary from store to store, as store managers have the flexibility to adjust prices, lower or higher. Aldi does not have the flexibility of the other stores reviewed. Prices are good as of this writing and could change by the time you make that grocery run.

• Aldi: 8011 E Kellogg Ave, Wichita, KS 67207
• Dillons: 9450 E. Harry St., Wichita, KS 67207
• Walmart: 11411 E Kellogg Dr, Wichita, KS 67207

Grocery Store Price Review, August 2024Photo byBachelor on the Cheap

Takeaways from this month's price review:

• Aldi consistently has the lowest online prices month to month, but in this August price comparison, the store came in second, behind Walmart. Of note, Aldi online prices are higher than in-store prices, so you'll spend even less than what's listed when shopping in-store. Aldi uniquely does this to cover their employee cost of personal shopping for your delivery or pickup order. Check out the price for chicken. It's the same chicken as the other stores, Tyson does the private labeling for Aldi under the Kirkwood brand. Family packs of chicken breasts are also available for $2.39/lb. In addition to having the lowest price for chicken, Aldi also has the best prices for bacon and ground beef.
• Dillons is consistently the highest-priced grocer overall from month to month since these Bachelor on the Cheap price reviews were started back in 2022. Typically, Dillons will cost $8 - $10 more for a cartload of groceries vs. the listed competitors, but they have made an effort to be more competitive with overall prices in recent months. The price gap in this grocery shop, Dillons vs. Aldi was $5.03. The Dillons price gap with Walmart was $5.35. Dillons shoppers might be able to make up the price gap vs. Aldi or Walmart with loyalty card savings and fuel points, but it's a coin toss. If you're curious about how the Dillons loyalty card plays a role, check out the related article link, "Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillon's (Kroger) vs. Aldi. Of note, Dillons had the lowest price for lunch meat and sugar. They do have family packs of Heritage chicken breasts priced at $2.69/lb. Personal experience, Heritage chicken breasts are smaller and lower in quality vs. Tyson. Check out the Heritage reviews on the Dillons website, they're not good.
• The Walmart online pricing is the same as for in-store. As previously stated, Walmart consistently finishes second in overall price each month, but NOT in this review. Walmart had the lowest overall prices in this review, featuring the following price notables for eggs, flour, milk, and potatoes. Walmart is selling family packs of chicken breasts, with a Great Value price of $2.67/lb.
• Year-over-year prices are mixed: Inflation is on the minds of almost everybody, and if this review is an indication, the cost of groceries overall continues to trend up. The same cart load of groceries bought at Aldi this time last year cost $73.08, and today's review cost $75.05, a year-over-year hike of $1.97. The Dillons price last year was $76.74, pushing the cartload (pun intended) price up by $3.34. The Walmart cartload is down slightly, a $0.54 drop from last year, going from $75.27 in 2023 to $74.73 today.
• Today's Shopping Tip: When it comes to lunchmeat, the packaging matters. Pick up a package of Kroger oven-roasted turkey in a 16-ounce tub, and check the price. Then pick up a package of Kroger oven-roasted turkey in a 16-ounce pillow-pack. It's cheaper, $1 cheaper. It's the same meat, just packaged differently. So unless you like the tubs because you can reuse the container, buy the pillow-packs. The packaging price difference holds true at the other stores too, the gap varies at the other stores, but it's a gap nonetheless.

Don't see some essential items that you think should be on the list? Please comment.

$pend Wisely My Friends...

~ Mike