We all know that produce prices jump around all the time. And they can vary not only from store to store, but day to day within stores depending on shipments, crop yield, distance shipped, and many other factors. A Michigan deal hunter shares with us what she found when comparing prices on produce between Walmart and Aldi in Comstock Park, MI near Grand Rapids.
Overwhelmingly on this trip, Aldi comes in below Walmart pricing, and often does in other areas, but that’s not always the case in every area or season. You also need to factor in the freshness of the items you are seeing and size of individual items and if they are on sale at Aldi or not. In this case, bananas were on sale, but they are normally $0.44-$0.48 per pound not on sale there.
In these pictures you see the price differences she found. What you don’t see is what she said about the sizes. Since the prices for the Aldi items are high above the produce, they are not included in the pictures, but were “on average visually smaller” than their Walmart counterparts. This is important to note on items that are sold on quantity instead of weight – If Walmart charges more, but the item is larger then the prices are much closer to even or Walmart would potentially come in with a better price. Avocados are one of those items in this case, the size and quality were much better at Walmart.
In some cases, like the apples, we have another thing to consider: locally grown. It’s not always marked, but if it’s important to you, look for the signs. Plus, these bags are the same weight total – even if the apples in the Walmart bags are bigger, chances are Aldi is your better deal if the quality is close.
In the case of the broccoli, it’s the only item that obviously comes in under the Aldi price at a quick glance. However, every store upcharges for “crowns” vs the packages with the stalk.
Again, many of the items are close in price and measured/sold in the same units. It comes down to quality of the product and willingness to shop multiple stores.
Then there’s the tricky ones…. like the grapes below. The quick glance makes it look like Walmart is the better deal, until you realize that Aldi has them pre-packaged in 2 pound containers and you are only paying $1.75 per pound.
Lettuce see where the salads stand. 50% higher price for something that will spoil quickly after opening might not be worth it, in this comparison, both looked to be about the same quality.
And another tricky one. It’s hard to see in the picture, but the Aldi price is for a 2 pack, not just a single like at Walmart. That’s a big savings for the Aldi pack when you consider our deal hunter says they were a great quality and very fresh.
Potatoes, potahtos.
Strawberries are one of those tricky things. Seems that no matter where you go they always looked better in the store than they do when you get them home. Where ever you chose to buy them from, pick from the back and bottom of the display for the freshest selection.
One other thing to note: Although Walmart’s coupon policy allows for price matching of produce in the Aldi ad, there tends to be a lot of selective allowance and resistance to it. So, on that note, please check with your local Walmart and follow up with corporate if you feel you need to try it.
Our Walmart no longer allows us to price match Aldi. Is this a corporate thing or just at mine?
Did they say why???
Since I’m selective and usually only buy what is the weekly specials at Aldi, my savings are considerably higher than what is shown here. All of my local Wal-Mart will allow price match with Aldi as long as I have the ad with me, even though I know technically I don’t have to have the ad, it is just easier than fight with them. Just make sure that what you are purchasing is completely identical to what Aldi carries. For instance, I wanted to price match mushrooms with another store and the Wal-Mart employee told me that they wouldn’t price match because that wasn’t the “brand” of fresh mushrooms they carried. I left them at the checkout with the cashier. White bud mushrooms are white bud mushrooms.