Shopping around – you versus the grocery store

I do the grocery shopping. I just returned from such an adventure. It’s one way I get exercise as a walk up and down the aisles, intentionally – .75 miles today.

Shopping is not easy. First, you need to locate things, which, eventually after shopping in the same store, you figure out. It would help though if the aisle signs actually reflected what was on those shelves. 

Then there are prices, different prices. There is the regular price, the sale price, the member price, the coupon price and nowadays the digital coupon price. I look for sales, but I’m not cutting paper coupons – when I have, I usually forget they are in my pocket. Give me digital everyday, you can’t forget them, they just expire. They and my member ID are in my phone app. I have a shopping list app as well- I prefer paperless. 

But even digital has challenges. Sometimes the product sign shows a digital coupon price, but I can’t find the coupon. Last week I complained and was told I needed store WiFi to download. I had store WiFi, but still no coupon appeared so they added it manually. I was then shown a kiosk that would scan my member number off my phone and load all digital coupons – it didn’t. More frustration.

Some of those sales are tricky. Today Connie insisted I take a coupon for chicken as it was a big discount. When I checked out, the coupon was rejected, I had chicken breasts and a valid coupon, what’s wrong?  I called the clerk over. “This darn thing won’t work.” He tried and still no luck. Upon closer examination he noticed the coupon was only on chicken at a certain price per pound.  The package I had picked had a different price per pound so no discount-I paid full price, but didn’t tell Connie. Kinda makes you wonder how old that on sale chicken may have been. 

A big sale on bottled water may mean you need to buy three cases. Last time soup was on sale I grabbed several cans only to learn at checkout the sale only applied to certain kinds of soup, not the ones I liked. I guess they had a surplus of cream of potatoe. It was in the fine print though – if you can read it. Why is the 36 pack of paper towels on sale, but not the 24 pack? 

Size matters in other ways. Do you look at the per unit cost on store shelf labels? The larger size is not always the better deal, but how often do we do the math? 

There is one store I occasionally use that allows you to scan each item as you take it from the shelf, place it in a bag in your cart and then scan your phone at checkout and your done. You entire order is processed. 

There is one flaw though. I seem to have a guilty look. One in four or five times my auto checkout is audited. That means, the clerk standing in the self checkout area must match each item in my bags with what is on my phone. Yup, as frustrating as a shopping cart in the center of a handicap parking space 😱

It seems these days you need a combination of financial, mathematical, technological and orientation skills to do the weekly grocery shopping. 

That combination is often lacking for many of us and not just senior citizens. Sometimes that is evidenced by the discussions overheard at checkout. Did you ever notice the shoppers who feign ignorance at picking up the wrong soup, only one case of water or the wrong size towels? 

Many things can be frustrating at checkout, but on top of my list is the person who waits until the entire order is processed and bagged before they start looking for their credit card or cash to pay. That full price chicken could spoil while waiting. 

Enjoy your next trip to the store😱