Can You Shop for Less at Shaw's Than Market Basket? Maybe

In June, Shaw's and Star Market Supermarkets announced they were eliminating the long-standing rewards card program in favor of slashing prices around the stores and offering all shoppers the same deals and discounts without having to carry a rewards card.

“Our goal is to provide our customers with an experience that is simple, easy and focused directly on them,” the grocery chain's President Shane Sampson said in press release. “Every customer who walks through our door deserves our best – from service to foods to pricing – and these lower prices are what our customers can expect from us every time they visit one of our stores.”

So I decided to check out the new lower prices at Shaw's on Continental Boulevard against the prices of the new Market Basket just off Exit 8 in Nashua.

On Thursday, July 11, I took a pre-determined shopping list of just some of the things we buy frequently in my household, to see where the better deals lie. After browsing both stores, I left with two different shopping totals, $84.61 at Shaw's and $80.27 at Market Basket, for a $4.34 less expensive trip at Market Basket. (The shopping list, prices and differences can be seen in a chart found in the photos above. Click on the chart for an enlarged version.)

Given that Market Basket's prices traditionally have been lower than Shaw's, it wasn't surprising that I would have walked out of there paying less, but a difference of $4 was closer than I thought it would be.

Each store, on any given week, has its own sales going on, so prices are constantly in flux. For instance, Shaw's chicken breast was significantly cheaper than Market Basket at $1.52/lb less, but it was on sale. Similarly, red onions were on sale at Market Basket, but at Shaw's, they were not.

Of 26 items on the list, 15 came in at a lower price at Market Basket, six were the same price and five were cheaper at Shaw's. But that doesn't mean you can still score some good deals at your hometown grocery store.

Sale prices are constantly going to change, which makes grocery shopping hardly an exact science. I could have left Shaw's with a bill closer to Market Basket, by switching up brands that I was shopping. For example, Prince pasta was actually cheaper than the Shaw's brand, on sale for $1 a box, which is the same as Market Basket. Similarly, Campbell's Chunky soup was 29 cents more at Shaw's but Progresso soup was on sale for $1.99 and came in cheaper than Campbell's and Progresso at Market Basket by 51 cents and 30 cents respectively.

Conversely, I could have looked around Market Basket for similar items at a cheaper price and lowered my bill there, too. Instead of steak tips, I could have bought bottom roast, instead of CoffeeMate, gone with a store brand. But I would venture the average shopper does not shop that way, instead, opting to shop for the things they prefer without spending hours agonizing over cheaper replacements. 

Like I said earlier, no exact science.

For year's Shaw's has been the only supermarket in Merrimack, and as of right now, there are no plans for a new store to come in to town, despite residents pleading for another option. Many residents do their shopping in Bedford and Nashua, as a way to escape higher prices.

But with lowered prices around the store, a drive out of town may not be as worthwhile as it once was. Each individual shopper has their own methods. Some clip coupons, some shop sales, some just shop the things they know they like and go wherever is cheapest, or even wherever is most convenient. For coupon clippers (especially extreme couponers) Shaw's can one-up Market Basket with its double coupons program for added savings. Market Basket does not double coupons.

Growing up in Exeter, technically we didn't have a supermarket in town (though there's a Stop and Shop there now). We drove to Stratham, the next town over, where Shaw's and Market Basket sat right across the street from each other. I remember that my mom would make two shopping lists and hit both stores (to this day, I think she still does to some extent) picking up groceries based on what was cheaper. With two options so close by, it was easy enough to do that. But without the proximity, it's less likely that people would do this, opting for the store with better deals overall.

When it comes down to it, it would take a lot of researching prices and sales to know how to come out exactly on top, so I guess the good news for Merrimack shoppers is that it seems, at least on the surface, that it's possible to get in and out of Shaw's much closer to what you could at Market Basket in this new post-rewards card era. 

But is that enough in a town where residents have felt pinched by one store for years?

What do you think of Shaw's new prices? Have you been shopping there lately? Do you remain a loyalist to another nearby grocery store? After seeing the totals above, would you reconsider doing your weekly shopping at Shaw's instead of driving to a neighboring community? Tell us in the comments below.