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supermarkets
supermarkets
Experts Point Fingers At Europe For Rising Grocery Bills & Gas Prices
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 19, 2012 4:00 PM
34 Comments
A trip to the grocery store or to the gas station could start costing more than it used to, as inflation is expected to rise. So who should we blame for higher priced food and fuel? Europe! Experts say it's their fault for having the nerve to be suffering from a debt crisis. More »
Don't Buy These Things At The Grocery Store
By Chris Morran on January 19, 2012 1:15 PM
82 Comments
As big box stores like Target and Walmart have expanded to include groceries, so have more traditional grocery store chains begun to offer more than foodstuffs for your pantry. But as tempting as it might be to turn your trip to the supermarket into a one-stop shopping trip, there are some things you might be better off buying elsewhere. More »
The Most Shoplifted Food In The World? That's Right, "Cheese."
By Ben Popken on October 26, 2011 12:00 PM
99 Comments
The First WorldWide Shrinkage Survey is not about taking a scientific approach to a Seinfeld plot line. Instead, it measures shoplifting around the globe. "Shrinkage," in retail parlance, is when people take things from stores without paying for them. And according to their study, the most shoplifted item in the world in 2011 was cheese. More »
Some Supermarkets Don't Want To Touch Ben & Jerry's Schweddy Balls
By Chris Morran on October 21, 2011 12:15 PM
104 Comments
Back when Ben & Jerry's announced its new Schweddy Balls flavor of ice cream, you might have guessed that some stores might balk at selling the product. And if so, then your prediction was spot-on. More »
Are You Overpaying For Vitamins?
By Ben Popken on October 6, 2011 4:00 PM
43 Comments
According to a recent study surveying over 60 different multivitamins, "there was almost no connection between price and quality." More »
(ahotw)
Fewer Supermarket Shoppers Using Self-Checkout Lanes
By Chris Morran on September 26, 2011 11:15 AM
227 Comments
We wrote earlier this year about the decision by Albertsons LLC, which controls about 1/3 of that grocery store brand's outlets, to shut down self-checkout machines in favor of human cashiers. Now a new report says we supermarket shoppers are just not using the self-checkout aisle as frequently as we were in recent years. More »
(JDAC)
Kroger Killing Double And Triple Coupons
By Ben Popken on September 14, 2011 1:00 PM
97 Comments
Continuing the anti-extreme couponer trend, Kroger announced that they'll stop doing double and triple store coupons in North Texas stores. More »
Starbucks To Place Single-Cup Capsules In Stores In November
By Phil Villarreal on August 31, 2011 9:15 AM
98 Comments
Eying light coffee drinkers who don't want to brew entire pots in the morning or lug themselves out to coffee shops to get their fixes, Starbucks will sell coffee and tea in single-cup Keurig capsules starting in November. The coffee giant aims to place the packets in all manner of marketplaces, including food, drug stores and department stores. More »
Blue Plate Mayo Proudly Says "No Shrink Ray Here"
By Ben Popken on August 30, 2011 5:00 PM
38 Comments
Blue Plate Mayo wants everyone to know that it's still rocking the 32 oz. More »
(danweber)
Extra Sneaky Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Sun Detergent
By Ben Popken on August 17, 2011 12:00 PM
35 Comments
It looks like our good old friend the Grocery Shrink Ray has zapped bottles of Sun detergent. The after effect is a little extra trickier than usual, though. The new smaller size screams, "50% MORE LOADS!" while in tiny print underneath that it says "vs. 29 load size." In reality, it has three few ounces than the older version. Sly! More »
Not Even Warm And Fuzzy Cereals Immune From Grocery Shrink Ray
By Ben Popken on August 10, 2011 4:00 PM
70 Comments
As an avid Consumerist reader, Drew knows to watch out when the boxes on the supermarket shelves get a makeover. Oftentimes these are tell-tale signs that the grocery shrink ray has been at it, reducing the amount of content you get and charging you more. His favorite cereal, Kashi Honey Sunshine, was a recent victim, dropping from 12 oz to 10.5 oz and getting a "New Look!" in the process. More »
What If Food Labels Looked Like This?
By Ben Popken on August 1, 2011 4:00 PM
126 Comments
Maybe the real reason Americans are so fat is because our food labels are so ugly. If they were easier on the eye to read, maybe more people would read them and make better eating choices. That was the idea in mind behind a recent design contest at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism aiming to give the standard government-mandated food label a much-needed makeover. The winning entry uses colored boxes for each ingredient that are sized in proportion to how much of each is inside the package. More »
(tjean314)
How Local Is That "Locally Grown" Produce At Your Grocery Store?
By Chris Morran on August 1, 2011 2:15 PM
50 Comments
Last October, Walmart announced a pledge to double the amount of produce it purchases from local growers by 2015, with the three-pronged goal of saving on fuel costs, reducing spoilage and catering to a growing consumer appetite for local produce. But while Walmart defines "local" as grown and sold in the same state, your grocery store might have a different definition for the term. More »
The Whole Foods Resignation Letter Of Doom
By Ben Popken on July 25, 2011 12:00 PM
121 Comments
If you've ever wondered what it would look like if you pulled back the shiny hippy veneer of Whole Foods and saw what was squiggling underneath, now's your chance. A Whole Foods worker just cc:'d their resignation letter to the entire company, and it's quite the mangum opus. More »
(stirwise)
Portland (The One In Oregon) Jumps On The Plastic Bag Ban-Wagon
By Chris Morran on July 22, 2011 3:15 PM
102 Comments
In recent years, a growing number of cities all over the country have been moving to put an end to — or at least curb — the use of plastic shopping bags. Last night, in a unanimous vote, the Portland, OR, City Council approved legislation that bans the use of these bags at larger grocery stores and big-box retailers. More »
(kozumel)
Supermarkets Manipulating Multiples To Get You To Buy More
By Ben Popken on July 19, 2011 3:00 PM
76 Comments
Supermarkets are rolling out the apparent discounts more than ever. Ten for $10! Five for $5! And shoppers, thinking they're getting a deal, are gobbling it up. Never mind that you can get the same price if you just bought one of the items. More »
Grocery Store Lures Customers To Spend More With Scent Machines
By Mary Beth Quirk on July 19, 2011 11:15 AM
63 Comments
How many times have you been hungry, gone shopping and ended up with three packages of donut holes you really didn't need? A grocery store in Brooklyn, N.Y. is taking advantage of grumbly tummies with scent marketing, as way to get consumers to spend more at the store. More »
Buy Groceries From Giant QR Code Wall In Subway Station
By Ben Popken on July 7, 2011 1:00 PM
38 Comments
As you wait for the subway to arrive, thoughts of errands drift through your head. Pick up medicine from the pharmacist, get package from the post office, and go get the groceries. In South Korea, Tesco has been experimenting with a system that lets you take care of that last one, right while you're on the subway platform. It's a wall-length billboard with photorealistic images of essential supermarket supplies. You take a picture of each item you want, grabbing its QR code, place your order, and Tesco will deliver it to your door. More »
Get Supermarket Club Discounts With "Jenny's" Phone Number
By Ben Popken on July 7, 2011 12:00 PM
113 Comments
Just because you're buying groceries out of town doesn't mean that you can't get a shopper's club discount at the supermarket, or have to go through the process of signing up for a member card. Instead, when they ask for your phone number, give them "Jenny's." More »
These Kroger "Build Your Own Sixpack" Signs Are In Conflict
By Ben Popken on July 7, 2011 11:00 AM
52 Comments
Karl was surprised when he saw this printed-out sign on the beer case at his local Kroger. It informed him that it was "unlawful" for the store to sell singles or six-packs where you get a six-pack box and fill it with a variety of beers of your choosing. He was surprised because just a few away were several shelves of beers underneath a giant sign that loudly advertised "Mix a Six, $8.99, Pick your style!" More »
