Which grocery store do you prefer to shop at? Is it Aldi, Walmart, or the mainstream grocery store?
Shoppers have a tendency to be loyal to a specific store. After all, we are creatures of habit. Some individuals are drawn to Aldi due to its consistently low prices and lack of concern for name brands. Fareway, on the other hand, attracts shoppers who appreciate their meat counter and the ability to request custom cuts of meat. HyVee is favored by those who value their loyalty card and fuel points. Lastly, there are those who choose Walmart for their regular grocery shopping needs, appreciating the convenience of one-stop shopping for clothing, home & garden, and other general merchandise.
This week, let’s compare the prices of grocery stores in the Corridor area. We will be looking at Aldi, Fareway, HyVee (which is considered the mainstream grocery store), and Walmart. If you have a different mainstream grocery store in your area, such as Meijer, HyVee, Publix, Albertsons, and more, you can substitute it here. It is likely that the mainstream grocery store will be the most expensive option among the stores we review each week.
This week’s list, dated January 4, 2024, covers the basics with a focus on store brands. The item count remains unchanged from the previous Corridor weekly essentials review, totaling 25 grocery products.
In comparison to the previous review conducted on December 4, 2023, it is worth noting that prices have increased across all stores. Aldi shoppers would have had to spend an additional $2.24 for the same items purchased in December. Fareway shoppers experienced a price increase of $1.78, while HyVee shoppers had to pay an extra $4.02. Walmart shoppers also saw an increase in spending, with an additional $2.19 spent on their purchases.
The prices mentioned are online prices and are applicable for the items that were available at the time of the review. It is important to note that the featured items are the store brand for each respective store, unless otherwise specified. Prices may vary from store to store, as store managers have the authority to adjust prices, either lower or higher. However, it is worth mentioning that Aldi does not have the same level of flexibility as the other stores reviewed. These prices were accurate at the time of writing, but it is possible that they may change by the time you go for your grocery run.
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- Aldi: 2750 Heartland Drive, Coralville, IA 52241
- Fareway: 2530 Westwinds Dr, Iowa City, IA 52246
- HyVee: 1914 8th St, Coralville, IA 52241
- Walmart: 2801 Commerce Dr, Coralville, IA 52241
Here are the key points to take away from this week’s price review:
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- Aldi is usually the lowest in online pricing of the four stores typically reviewed, but they were the second-lowest for the second review in a row. Keep in mind their 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 what you’ll find at Walmart, Tyson does the private labeling for Aldi under the Kirkwood brand. Of note, Aldi has the lowest prices for lunch meat, onions, and Tilapia.
- The Fareway online pricing is the same as in-store. Fareway used to be an economical choice kind of grocery store, but their upgrade trend has gone upscale. Fareway has unseated HyVee as the highest overall price for a cartload of groceries consistently. They have the most red in their column, with 12 of the highest prices of the 25 items reviewed.
- HyVee is the second-highest-priced grocer in the corridor in this review. Online pricing is higher than in-store shopping, but that does NOT negate the fact that price gaps between stores are HUGE. Aldi vs. HyVee, the online price gap is a whopping $15.02, favoring Aldi. You CANNOT make that up in loyalty card and fuel points. Price gap vs. Walmart: $17.44.
- The Walmart online pricing is the same as for in-store. Walmart was the cheapest store to shop at this week. The store consistently finishes second in overall price from week to week, but they got the win this shop for the second review in a row. Walmart has the lowest notable prices this review for milk, ground beef, and bacon.
- Observation: The more Fareway grows, the more expensive a cartload of groceries gets.
- Egg prices back on the rise: Egg prices have been trending up since August. The average price for a dozen large eggs was around $1.53 back in August, it’s now $2.14, an increase of about 28 percent. HyVee had the best egg price at the time of this review, at $1.79 a dozen.
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