From Kroger, Publix & Aldi, which grocery store has the best prices in Bluffton this June?
From backyard BBQs to beach days and sweet tea-filled picnics, summertime in the South means one thing: it’s time to stock up on all the fixin’s.
With so many grocery stores to pick from, it can often be difficult to determine which spot has the best bang for your buck.
As prices and items in stock fluctuate daily, you never know what numbers you’ll see on the shelves.
For the past few months, we’ve compared top grocery competitors, including Food Lion, Kroger, Walmart and Publix in their prices to determine which location was the cheapest for shoppers in Beaufort County.
As two new Aldi locations are making their way to the Lowcountry, one in Beaufort and another on Hilton Head, we’ve added in their prices for this month’s breakdown, too.
We’ve checked out the same grocery stores again for June (plus Aldi) to find out which store was the most cost-effective. We visited store locations for all five chains here in Bluffton, gathering prices for a list of 10 grocery staples.
Where did we shop?
We visited Bluffton area store locations for Food Lion, Kroger, Publix, Walmart and Aldi.
We did not include stores with membership requirements, such as Sam’s Club. We also left out stores that specialize in organic items from our list.
These are the specific stores visited in order:
- Aldi: 1131 Fording Island Road
- Walmart: 4 Bluffton Road
- Publix: 101 Buckwalter Place Boulevard
- Kroger: 27 Discovery Drive
- Food Lion: 210 Okatie Village Drive
What was on the shopping list?
When shopping, we looked for lower-cost and/or store-brand items. If those items were not available, we went for what was in stock or most comparable.
We avoided more expensive organic options to ensure we compared like to like, as best as possible.
Our list included the following items:
Eggs
Milk
Bread
Chicken breast tenderloins
Ground beef
Yellow Onions
Avocados
Tomatoes
Orange juice
Ground coffee
When did we shop?
Grocery prices are subject to change, even daily for some items. For this story, we visited each location on June 2 between 1 and 3 p.m.
Here is how prices stacked up across these five grocery locations:
Here’s a further breakdown of the items we bought. All totals are pre-tax:
Aldi: 1131 Fording Island Road
Eggs: (12 count, Goldhen brand): $3.29
Milk: (1 gallon, whole milk, Friendly Farms brand): $2.95
Bread: (White bread loaf, L’oven Fresh brand): $1.55
Chicken breast tenderloins: (2 lbs package, Kirkwood brand): $7.98
Ground beef: (1 lb, Aldi brand): $6.99
Yellow Onions: (3 lbs bag, Aldi brand): $2.75
Avocados: (4 pack, Aldi brand): $4.39
Tomatoes: (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $2.15
Orange juice: (52 oz., Nature’s Nectar brand): $4.69
Ground coffee: (12 oz., Breakfast blend, Barissimo brand): $6.29
Total: $43.03
Walmart: 4 Bluffton Road
Eggs (12 count, Great Value brand): $2.96
Milk (1 gallon of whole milk, Great Value brand): $2.68
Bread (White bread loaf, Great Value brand): $1.42
Chicken breast tenderloins (Great Value brand, 2 lbs): $9.93
Ground beef (Great Value brand tray, 1 lbs): $6.53
Yellow Onions (3lb bag, Great Value brand): $3.14
Avocados (4 count, $0.97 each): $3.88
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $3.88
Orange juice (52 oz., Great Value brand): $4.48
Ground coffee (Great Value brand breakfast blend, 12 oz.): $5.97
Total: $44.87
Publix: 101 Buckwalter Place Boulevard
Eggs (12 count, Publix brand): $3.99
Milk (1 Gallon of Whole milk, Publix brand): $2.99
Bread (White bread loaf, Publix brand): $1.99
Chicken breast tenderloins (1.24 lbs, Publix brand): $9.91
Ground beef (Publix Market brand tray, 1.15 lbs.): $8.04
Yellow Onions (3lb bag, Publix brand): $5.69
Avocados (4 count, $1.49 each): $5.96
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine, $0.87 each): $4.35
Orange juice (64 oz., Publix brand): $4.99
Ground coffee (Publix brand breakfast blend, 11.5 oz.): $7.99
Total: $55.90
Kroger: 27 Discovery Drive
Eggs (12 count, Kroger brand): $3.99
Milk (1 gallon of whole milk, Kroger brand): $2.99
Bread (White bread loaf, Kroger brand): $1.99
Chicken breast tenderloins (Kroger brand, 2.5 lbs): $9.99
Ground beef (Kroger brand tray, 1 lbs.): $6.99
Yellow Onions (3lb bag, Kroger brand): $2.99
Avocados (4 count, $1.41 each): $5.64
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $3.76
Orange juice (Half gallon, Kroger brand): $4.99
Ground coffee (Kroger brand breakfast blend, 11 oz.): $6.99
Total: $50.32
Food Lion: 210 Okatie Village Drive
Eggs (12 count, Food Lion brand): $2.99
Milk (1 gallon of whole milk, Food Lion brand): $2.99
Bread (White bread loaf, Food Lion brand): $2.39
Chicken breast tenderloins (Family pack, Food Lion brand): $4.39
Ground beef (Food Lion brand tray 1 lbs.): $6.29
Yellow Onions (3lb bag, Food Lion brand): $2.89
Avocados (4 count, $0.99 each): $3.96
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $1.99
Orange juice (52 oz., Food Lion brand): $3.99
Ground coffee (Food Lion brand breakfast blend, 12 oz.): $7.49
Total: $39.37
Were sales a factor?
As we were shopping for our list, no. We worked with regular prices and did not include sales, markdowns or membership discounts.
However, other shoppers will likely be able to find lower prices than those listed here.
How did prices compare?
Cheapest: Food Lion
Middle: Walmart & Aldi ($1.84 difference)
Highest: Publix & Kroger ($5.58 difference)
So, what’s the takeaway here?
With a few exceptions, price-conscious shoppers in June in the Lowcountry will likely find Food Lion to be the cheapest when shopping for store brand staples.
Walmart and Aldi follow close behind, with Kroger and Publix being the priciest.
Looking back at May’s comparison, Food Lion was also the cheapest location.
No matter if you’re seeking quality, easy shopping or just looking to stay on budget, price comparisons can be useful when considering where to shop for your staples.
Check back each month to see which grocery store offers the best price.
