High food prices! Get any two housewives together and sooner or later their conversation will turn to this topic. As a service to our readers, a survey of three local supermarkets, National, Bettendorf’s, and Guccione’s, was made for the purpose of comparing prices. It was done of May 16th.
The list of items to be surveyed by H. E. L. P. (Housewives Elect Lower Prices), a group of women who decided to do what they could to bring prices down. It includes a number of meat, dairy and staple items most commonly used. The meat category, for instance, included the price per pound of hamburger, cut-up chicken and bologna. The same brands and sizes were selected from each store so that comparisons would be fair.
If all the items on the list had been purchased at each store, here is what the bills would have looked like:
Price comparison
- National — Meat $4.82; Dairy .80; Staples 9.30; Total 14.92.
- Bettendorf’s — Meat $3.72; Dairy .62; Staples 9.58; Total 13.92.
- Guccione’s — Meat $4.05; Dairy .80; Staples 10.02; Total 14.87.
Obviously, on that particular day, you could have saved a dollar by buying the items at Bettendorf’s; In all fairness, however, it must be said that some of the items which were on the list happened to be on sale there. At regular prices the cost would have gone up slightly. Nonetheless, it is clear that Bettendorf’s discontinuation of trading stamps has lowered their over-all price structure.
On May 16th, the DeBaliviere Bettendorf store was cleaner and better ordered than the other stores sampled. This particular store does not have the large stock that other Bettendorf locations offer especially in the meat department, but the quality was good and there was a wide variety of economy meats.
One disturbing factor about shopping at Bettendorf’s, a problem we we hope the manager will do something about in the near future, is the the number of boys wo follow shoppers around the store asking to help carry their groceries to the parking lot. Our surveyor was approached no less that ten times.
The boys do offer a needed service and it is a good way for them to make some money. But they should not be allowed to pester the customers. Perhaps the manager could have them wait near the front front of the store and call them, on a rotating basis, when their services are desired.
The National store, also on DeBaliviere, carries a more extensive variety of some goods, and their produce looked good. Although this store’s prices were a little higher, it must be remembered that Eagle Stamps are given for the amount of the purchase.
Guccione’s, on Delmar, seems to offer lower over-all meat prices, but the shopper should be selective. Good bargains were also found in the dairy department. Of interest to those who like Oriental food will be the store’s selection of such exotic fixings as huge dried mushrooms and lotus bulbs. A wide variety of kosher products is also available.
Few definite conclusions can be drawn about which store is best to patronize. As mentioned above, some of the items surveyed were were being used as ‘leaders’, sold at reduced prices in order to attract shoppers. Also, some stores carry their own brands which are often priced as much as 20 to 30 percent lower than the better known name brands. This could produce substantial savings when buying in large quantities. The same principle applies when buying meat. Hamburger, for instance, was 24 cents a pound cheaper when when purchased in bulk packs.
A thorough check of the food section of the Wednesday newspapers can help you decide what to buy and where. Since our area is lucky enough to have several supermarkets so closely located, it might prove more economical to do selective shopping at all of them them.
Originally published in The Paper, June 1970.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
