Analysis Compares Prices At PA Supermarkets: Here's The Cheapest

Where do you buy your groceries?

It's a question that might come up often during conversations with friends and co-workers. Who has the best deals? Who has the freshest produce, the tastiest meats, the friendliest employees?

Checkbook.org, a nonprofit organization providing service reviews and price research, has some information to help you settle the debate. The organization has been evaluating grocery stores in the Delaware Valley area for 15 years, and recently came out with its newest analysis of Philadelphia-area grocery stores. The analysis looks at prices, as well as quality.

To compare prices, Checkbook.org's researchers used a 154-item list of common items. The quality of products and service at stores was determined by surveying local consumers, the organization said.

Some of the findings might surprise you, and others will not.

In total 21 stores, including national, regional and local retailers, were included in the analysis.

The report found the most-expensive place to purchase groceries in the Philadelphia region is Whole Foods, where you'll pay 21 percent more than the average store. However, it appears the price comes with some benefits. Whole Foods shoppers gave their store high marks for produce and overall quality.

The next most-expensive spot is Acme, the analysis determined. At Acme, groceries are 17 percent more than the average store, Checkbook.org found. Shoppers there gave average ratings (42 percent) for quality.

Regional retailer McCaffrey's had prices that were 12 percent higher than average, the report found. Shoppers gave the store a 76 percent rating for produce, and a 66 percent rating for overall quality.

Now, for the places where you can find the deals: According to the analysis it's either warehouse clubs, or Walmart and ALDI.

At Walmart, prices are 17 lower than average. Again, that comes with a caveat: the store got just a 16 percent rating for overall quality and its produce fared slightly higher. ALDI's prices are 41 percent lower than average, and its quality ratings were also average (in the 50 percent range), according to the analysis.

Trader Joe's, which offers an array of original products under its own brand name, had prices that were 15 percent lower.

Shoprite and Giant were both found to have prices about 1 percent lower than average, and Wegmans was 3 percent lower.

When it comes to the best prices at warehouse stores, the report noted Sam's Club shoppers saved between 19 and 41 percent compared to supermarket chains. Costco shopers saved 17 to 39 percent and BJ's shoppers saved up to 26 percent, according to Checkbook.org.

Click here to review the full analysis.

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