The Cheapest Grocery Stores

Changing where you shop may make all the difference if you want to save money on groceries.

Two recent studies, one from consumer research firm Market Force and the other from Dunnhumby, a company that analyzes customer data for retailers, indicate that pricing still drives consumer choices on the grocery aisles.

What Grocery Stores Have the Cheapest Prices?

Market Force’s 2024 Grocery Study measures the top stores across several consumer experience perspectives, including loyalty, convenience, cleanliness, and variety of merchandise available.

Dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index (RPI) uses data from 10,000 grocery stores to gain insights into what consumers value the most in a grocery store.

While those studies use myriad data points to arrive at their conclusions, at Clark.com, we’d like to highlight a simpler concern that customers typically want to know about grocery stores: Who has the cheapest prices?

To find out, we combined some of the metrics from both studies to come up with those grocers that appeal to customers’ wallets time and time again.

Let’s take a look at the top grocery stores, listed in alphabetical order, when it comes to cheap prices.

Here Are the Best and Cheapest Grocery Stores

• Aldi
• Brookshire Grocery
• Food4LessFoodsCo
• Food Lion
• Fry’s
• Grocery Outlet
• H-E-B
• King Soopers
• Harris Teeter
• Kroger
• Lidl
• Marcs
• Market Basket
• Publix
• Save-a-Lot
• ShopRite
• Walmart
• Winco

In the Dunnhumby study, H-E-B comes in #1 in its RPI ranking, “meaning they have the strongest customer value proposition for the long-term.” Since the inaugural RPI rankings in 2018, H-E-B has landed in the top spot three times, more than any other grocer.

Methodology

To come up with our list of the cheapest grocery stores, we used the retailers at the top of the Dunnhumby study’s Price, Promotions and Rewards pillar and combined them with Market Force’s grocer ranking of Loyalty, Trust and “Share of Wallet.”

Market Force’s Share of Wallet measures the percentage of grocery dollars spent — on a 0-100 point scale — at a particular store.

“Consumers’ disconnect between loyalty and share of wallet, entails the economic side of experience – with value clearly driving share of wallet for the top contenders,” the news release says. “Value here is defined as: good sales and promotions, value for money spent, and good loyalty and rewards programs.”

How To Save at the Grocery Store

Here are some Clark-approved ways you can save money the next time you’re at the grocery store:

Check Out Aldi

Clark is a big fan of Aldi, which keeps its prices low by stocking its shelves primarily with products from its private labels.

“Around the country, Aldi is almost everywhere now,” Clark says, “and they are absolutely the lowest priced place to buy groceries.”

If you know anything about Aldi, you know that it keeps some of its best deals in its middle aisle deals. Read up on what to know before you shop at Aldi.

Buy Store Brands Over Name Brands

If you want to save here and there, opt for store brands over name brands, which typically carry higher price tags for the same items.

“The store brands are so much cheaper, typically 20-30% cheaper,” Clark says. “And those store brands have changed so much over the decades.”

Buy in Bulk

Buying meat in bulk is another great way to cut your monthly grocery bill. No matter you or your family buys on the regular — from meat to frozen food items — you can buy larger quantities to save now and eat later.

Here are some items that Clark’s fans say they always buy in bulk.

Final Thoughts

With inflation slowing over time, more consumers are putting an emphasis on other factors besides cheap pricing, like convenience, cleanliness, and variety of merchandise available, according to Market Force.

For a deep dive into which grocers are winning at convenience, digital offerings and more, check out Market Force’s 2024 Grocery Study as well as Dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index.

Where do you shop for groceries? And what are your favorite money-saving tips? Let us know in our free Clark.com Community!