Dear Dr. Per Cap: There’s a Walmart in a town near the rez where just about everyone shops.  Some people have jokingly nicknamed it the “Gathering of Nations”.  My cousin swears Walmart always has the lowest prices but I’m not so sure.  What’s your take?

Signed, Wally World Woman

Dear WWW

Ah…the great debate to decide the best place to buy my Kit Kats and Pop Tarts.   Does anyone hear the sound of falling prices?  A few years ago I did a little experiment in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I drove around one evening comparing the prices of common grocery and consumer goods sold by Target, Smith’s Food and Drug (a regional Kroger affiliate), Albertsons (another regional supermarket chain that merged with Safeway a few years back), and yours truly Wally World aka Walmart.  The results might surprise you.  And yes, not the most exciting way to spend a Friday night I admit.

Of the sixteen products I compared such as Tide laundry detergent, milk, JIF peanut butter, Kool Aid, and Oscar Mayer bacon Walmart and Target were both tied with each store selling seven of the sixteen chosen products at the lowest price.  Smith’s sold two products cheaper than their competitors: Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner and Heinz Ketchup; while Albertsons came in dead last without offering the lowest price for any products.

So it came down to a battle between heavyweight hypermarkets Walmart and Target.  Between the two a few products such as Tide, Gold Medal Flour, and Scott Bath Tissue (my go to brand when I was single!) were priced within pennies of one another.  But ultimately Walmart came out on top selling all sixteen products for a total of $101.65 compared to Target at $105.72.  That’s a savings of 3.8% which might not sound like a lot but really adds up over the course of a year.  As to be expected Smith’s and Albertsons weren’t even close, selling all products for a combined $132.45 and $133.49 respectively.

But to be fair it’s important to understand that Albertsons, Smith’s, and some other supermarket chains take a different retail approach that isn’t based primarily on having the lowest prices.  Furthermore, they pretty much focus on food and groceries and don’t sell stuff like coats, furniture, and flat panel TV’s.  They also tend to be a little fancier than the discount stores offering more selection and some higher quality products such as top cuts of meat, fresh seafood, and organic veggies.

Another interesting takeaway is that comparing products based only on price can be tricky.  Let’s take bananas for example.  Target prices bananas by the unit (24 cents each) but the other three stores all sell the luscious yellow berries by the pound.  Likewise Target sells Crest Toothpaste in an 8.2 ounce tube while the other three all sell a 6.4 ounce tube.  Huh???

Some quick math reveals that Walmart’s 6.4 ounce tube selling for $1.96 is actually a better value than Target’s 8.2 ounce tube selling for $2.99 (31 cents per ounce as opposed to 36 cents per ounce).  These are things you might want to think about while strolling through the aisles picking ingredients for your heartburn special triple jalapeno queso dip to take to your cousin’s Super Bowl party this year.   Also remember that many stores will match competitors’ prices and coupons so it definitely pays to compare prices because in many households groceries and related food costs gobble up a huge chunk of monthly flexible expenses.

Back in the day Walmart had a slogan “Always Low Prices.”  I challenge you to be “Always a Savvy Consumer!”

Ask Dr. Per Cap is a program funded by First Nations Development Institute with assistance from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. For more information, visit www.firstnations.org. To send a question to Dr. Per Cap, email askdrpercap@firstnations.org.