Who can afford to shop at Safeway? (sales, coupons)

[Quietude]

I was always used to having at least three or four supermarkets to choose from, maybe not in my neighborhood but within a convenient drive. (Then I lived somewhere where the only decent super was six miles away, and the next about fifteen. Fortunately I liked that chain.)

Safeway has always been around and for the most part my memories of them in CA are as a mid-price chain. Here... wow. I drifted to King Sooper because of selection and convenience, but I still have a prescription at Safeway and once it a while it's the convenient one to hit.

I'm just staggered at how much more expensive Safeway is compared to KS - it seems like most goods are at least 10% more, many are 30-50% more and some categories are so expensive it looks like a bad joke. Many is the time I've gone in to pick up my scrip and planned on grabbing a few items, but I ended up saving several dollars by going over to KS instead. Day in and day out, the extra cost of shopping there would be a significant hit on my budget. And it's not a matter of selection - they have exactly one item I can't find at KS (a particular Progresso soup I like).

I have never found anything for less - and SW's sale prices are often still higher than KS's shelf price.

Does anyone shop at Safeway knowing they are spending around 20-25% more than across the street?

(Note that I'm leaving the organic, natural and specialty stores out of this... just general grocery shopping.)

[Moonwalkr]

Walmart is even cheaper. People shop where they are comfortable shopping at, even at a premium.

[Indigo Cardinal]

I tend to select my grocery store based mostly on convenience first. However, I'll switch it up if there's reason enough to do so.

My old house, I shopped at a Safeway kitty-corner from where I lived because it was right there, though occasionally I hit another one about a mile and a half away because the second one had a larger selection than the first one. Also, the second one had a gas station, the first one didn't.

I actually used to alternate between the first Safeway and an Albertson's that used to be across the street from it, but the Albertson's closed a few years after I moved in. There was a King Soopers closer to me than the second Safeway, but.....there was something about that particular store I didn't feel comfortable with. I have no idea why. Nothing about the area in general bothered me, I shopped in other stores in that same strip mall, it was just *that* store in particular I didn't like.

I've moved since then, and the two closest grocery stores to me are both King Soopers. I usually go to the one two miles south of me (larger selection and a gas station), but occasionally the one two miles north gets my business (they sometimes have a few things the south one doesn't carry.)

[emm74]

I don't shop much at Safeway because there isn't one near my house. I occasionally go to one on the way home from work and haven't really noticed it being more expensive, although I am very much a sale shopper and it's not unusual for every single item I buy on a grocery trip to be something on sale. So maybe they have decent sale prices but the regular prices are higher?

Because I don't really like that store (produce is always meh and I feel like I'm always picking up something in the dairy department only to find out it's outdated), I pretty much only go in when they have specific things I want on sale - despite the failings in other departments, they have a good meat department so I'll stock up on some things when they are on sale. And I think their fresh bakery department is better than King Soopers.

[Coloradomom22]

As someone who used to be a big couponer and still likes to shop the sales Safeway has great deals if you follow their ads and download their app. Yes, their regular prices are generally higher but their sales can't be beat especially on dairy products. They also are the only store left that doubles coupons. Their meat selection is far better than King Soopers (never bought good meat at KS) and their bakery has higher-quality items. If you blindly shop and never follow ads then King Soopers is cheaper.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Coloradomom22

As someone who used to be a big couponer and still likes to shop the sales Safeway has great deals if you follow their ads and download their app. Yes, their regular prices are generally higher but their sales can't be beat especially on dairy products. They also are the only store left that doubles coupons. Their meat selection is far better than King Soopers (never bought good meat at KS) and their bakery has higher-quality items. If you blindly shop and never follow ads then King Soopers is cheaper.

All true, by my experience. I have an account with SW to get frequent e-coupons, deals, free stuff. I find their fruit and veggies to be far better than other stores. Meats at SW have been excellent and I've seen some USDA Prime there lately. My local store is now in the last steps of a wall to wall update, to include adding a salad bar and self-checkouts, both of which I will use often. They know what we buy on a regular basis and send us e-coupons for those exact items, and many more.

[Quietude]

I haven't found supermarket ads useful for years. I'm not going to drop and run shop because there's a sale on something - that is, of course, what they want you to do - and it's rare to have a sale price or coupon that depends on having the ad sheet any more. They're just flyers for what the prices are that week.

I also find that coupons tend to be for products I don't buy anyway - I am not going to buy some "better" brand or a product I don't really need because it's got a coupon. (That, too, is what they want you to do.) Other than reducing overstock, coupons are almost never issued for good-selling products at already reasonable prices.

I guess it's terribly unorganized and spendthrift of me, but I shop for what I need when I need it, and only buy bulk or stock up on things I would usually buy or stock anyway. I do tend to let sale prices drive my choices, but again, only among things I'd buy in the first place.

Safeway never has a sale or club price that makes me buy something. Ever. It's either the same price as KS, or higher. I find it all peculiar because grocery prices are like gas - all the sellers tend to watch each other and stay within certain relative margins. Safeway - here, now - doesn't seem to care and clearly they aren't suffering for a lack of trade. I just wonder how many people walking out with a full cart realize how much more they paid.

Walmart groceries are interesting - many things are a little cheaper, some things a bunch, but quite a few are the same price as KS or even higher than common shelf-sale prices.

[Mike from back east]

I don't bother with printed paper coupons or weekly newspaper type ads that show up in my mail, that stuff goes into the recycling bin unseen.

SW sends me emails with digital coupons on food items that we buy and which I load to my account. These are discounts from posted prices on real food (not junk) which gets prices down into the range of our local Kroger store (Fry's here in AZ, was KS in COLO SPGS).

I haven't bought a Sunday newspaper for maybe 20 years. Early in our marriage we checked the Sunday sale ads, but that ended decades ago (I'm 70, married 45 years). I know my prices and don't buy the junk that most coupons are for.

"Sale" prices, no matter what type of item, are used to create a sense of urgency to get people to buy the item right away. Experienced shoppers know their prices and know BS from real sales.

[katharsis]

I prefer the Safeways in my area (south Jeffco) because they aren't as crowded as King Soopers and the cashiers are MUCH friendlier, in my experience. I do shop at King Soopers when I MUST, but I have not noticed that much of a price difference at all.

One thing that does bother me about Safeway, though, is that so many of their deals are only available if you have an app/Smartphone. I am not going to spend extra money for a phone I don't need just so that I can save a few dollars a week!

[COcheesehead]

If you want to see expensive stuff, go to a Walgreens. I just bought a three pack of a couple different items at Costco for less than a single one cost at a Walgreens. Crazy expensive.