A person looks at frozen foods on the market at a Dollar Store in Alhambra, California on August 23, 2022.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
Amongst all rising costs, sky-high grocery bills have been especially painful.
Although the consumer price index, an inflation gauge that measures the associated fee of a broad basket of products and services, began to ease as of the newest reading, food prices were up yet again, the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
Over the past yr, food prices overall have risen greater than 10%. Egg prices, alone, soared 60%, butter is up greater than 31% and lettuce jumped 25%, in keeping with Labor Department data through December.
Because of this, consumers are in search of any — and all — ways to save lots of. For some, meaning shopping at their local dollar store.
Dollar stores are pulling in additional grocery shoppers
Slowly but surely, discount dollar stores’ share of total grocery spending has been creeping up, in keeping with a recent report from Coresight Research. Already, greater than 1 in 5 consumers buy groceries at dollar stores, in keeping with Coresight’s weekly U.S. Consumer Tracker.
A separate study published within the American Journal of Public Health also found that dollar stores were the fastest-growing food retailers, partially because they’re expanding at an unmatched pace, especially in rural areas.
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To lure shoppers, the country’s category giants — Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar — have been adding stores and remodeling with more refrigeration units and expanded grocery offerings, including healthier foods and fresh produce, the Coresight report found.
“If the 2 retailers proceed to enhance the standard of their fresh food while maintaining the low prices related to their brands, there’s a high probability it can bolster their value proposition with their existing consumer base and likewise pull in recent customers from higher-priced retailers,” the report said.
‘It’s about making your dollar go a bit of further’
Lately, shoppers are considering alternatives, especially if it means higher prices, said Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews. “It’s about making your dollar go a bit of further.”
Nevertheless, the worth is just not all the time there, she added. Despite the name, “you might be hard-pressed to seek out items which might be only a dollar.” It is important to envision the unit price and compare with the offerings at other stores, including Walmart and Trader Joe’s, Ramhold said.
As well as, the grocery assortment will still be smaller than what you’ll find at a supermarket or a warehouse club. For instance, the collection of vegetables and fruit could also be limited to more shelf-stable offerings like bagged salad mixes and bananas, Ramhold said.
Further, with less turnover, you usually tend to find items near the expiration date. “It is important to envision ‘best by’ dates,” she cautioned.
To that end, Ramhold advises shoppers to deal with staples, reminiscent of rice, pasta and dried beans, which may also be tailored to suit different cuisines and do not cost very much.
(“The Dollar Store Cookbook,” available on Amazon, has recipes which might be mostly limited to such pantry-stable ingredients, including a creamed tuna on toast made with canned tuna and cream of celery soup.)
Top suggestions for saving on groceries
With food inflation persisting, savings experts share their top tricks to spend less on groceries, no matter where you shop.
- Scrutinize sales. Generic brands will be 10% to 30% cheaper than their “premium” counterparts and just nearly as good — but that is not all the time the case. Name brands could also be offering larger than usual discounts without delay to keep up loyalty, so it is important to cost check.
- Plan your meals. Whenever you plan your meals prematurely, you are more prone to just buy the stuff you need, said Lisa Thompson, a savings expert at Coupons.com. If planning’s not your thing, at the least buy groceries with a rough idea of what you may be cooking within the week ahead to assist stay on course and avoid impulse purchases, she added.
- Buy in bulk. In the case of the remainder of the items in your list, you possibly can save more by buying in bulk. Joining a wholesale club reminiscent of Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s will often get you the perfect price per unit on condiments and nonperishable goods. Then, keep your pantry organized, with food closer to expiration in front so you recognize to cook or devour them before they go bad, advised consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch.
- Use a cash-back app. Ibotta and Checkout 51 are two of the most well-liked apps for earning money back at the shop, in keeping with Ramhold. The common Ibotta user earns between $10 and $20 a month, but more energetic users could make as much as $100 to $300 a month, a spokesperson told CNBC.
- Pay with the best card. While a generic cash-back card reminiscent of the Citi Double Money Card can earn you 2%, there are specific grocery rewards cards that may earn you as much as 6% back at supermarkets nationwide, reminiscent of the Blue Money Preferred Card from American Express. CNBC’s Select has a full roundup of the perfect cards for food shopping together with the APRs and annual fees.