Kroger vs. Meijer vs. Giant Eagle (x-posted)

[lindypup]

Talk about an embarrassment of riches...

I just moved to the Toledo area and I am so pleased to find 3 great grocery stores in which to do my coupon shopping! Not to mention 2 drug stores.

I have a good idea which drug store I'll go with, but I am having trouble deciding which grocery stores will be most worth my while: Kroger, Meijer, or Giant Eagle. I really need to narrow my focus on one, and perhaps keep an eye on another store's sales. With my schedule and half-hearted commitment to couponing, I figure I can shop one effectively, two MAYBE, but for sure not all three.

Which would you recommend, and why? I am familiar with Meijer as it was in my old town...but I am intrigued by my other two options!

Thanks!
Kate

[mamaknowsbest]

I would recommend Giant Eagle 'cos of it's rewards,which are great.I personally love getting $ off gas because I coupon there the most,& also love getting the % off your grocery purchase,which you can save and it really adds up,especially combined with coupons!
Kroger has similar $ off gas perks but not nearly as good as G.E.
Although I don't shop their but once a month.
Meijer is a 2x a month trip for me.

[kcuts]

What might be helpful is write down your most frequently purchased items and go from store to store and jot down prices, then determine their q policy and or if it is an item that could be purchased with a q.
In my area there are a number of items that are cheaper with out a q at Walmart, next up is Meijer with the lower prices most of the time with sale items and mq's, Kroger has the highest prices but their Mega and 10/10 sales are worth going to, but our Kroger doubles $1 so that makes a huge difference. I am Mid-Michigan.

We priced Bryers Ice Cream a couple of weeks ago.
Walmart 3.00, price drop at one time was 2.25
Meijer (sale 2/$5) not on sale 3.xx
Kroger regular price was 5.xx my hubby about flipped when he seen the price.
I have not seen it on sale at Kroger yet.

This week at Meijer with free BC potatoes, free Fruit Rollups and cheap/free Hamburg Helper, cheap Wanchai and free/cheap Pillsbury.
The last 2 weeks at Kroger free Gatorade, free cheese, cheap cereal I pick and choose which items to purchase at what stores.

[selover_girl]

i live 15 min from kroger and hour away from meijer, but i find myself shopping at meijer more often even tho they only dbl 2 likes and only up to .50 while kroger db .99 unlimited ... i watch both very closely and shop both but seems like i can always get more for my money at meijer (with the exclusion of kroger mega deals daytona deals, triple/super dbl promos!) with cat deals and sale prices...
if there were a giant eagle nearby i would definately transfer all my fams scripts there back and forth for the fuel perk thingy!
unfortunately if you want the absolute best deals you have to work all 3 which is sometimes impossible but otherwise you have to make peace with not catching every deal! (sometimes impossible too! lol)

[lindypup]

Thanks for your tips, everyone! I really appreciate the responses as I mull it all over.

[petergabrielfan]

Welcome to Toledo from a fellow Toledoan! I actually shop at all three for different reasons, but I'm no more than 15 minutes from any of them. Honestly, regular prices are not great at any of them, but the sales can offer a huge savings to you if you watch.

As far as the drug stores, I prefer Rite Aid, although I do shop at Walgreens and occasionally CVS in Monroe. I like Rite Aid because they offer cash and gift card rebates and you don't have to worry about RR expiring and having to roll and remember 200 rules that change by the day. :shrug7:Don't get me wrong; Walgreens has its perks too, and I guess that's why I shop there as well. For example, though, I have a big bunch of RR that I have to spend on something that are going to expire this week and there really isn't anything in the ad that I want to buy. I will definitely find something, but I don't really like having to buy things like Joint Juice just to keep RR rolling. I want products I'll use.

[supafly119]

I'm in Mid Michigan. We have Kroger and Meijer, no G.E. here. Meijer is my favorite of the two. I prefer the shopping environment better and their regular and sale prices are lower than Kroger. That being said, the Kroger in the town I work in doubles Mfq up to $1.00 (only to .50 at Meijer) which makes a huge difference. I usually end up doing the majority of my shopping at Meijer, but will usually make about 1 trip a week to Kroger. I just watch the ad and keep an idea of what $1.00 Mfq I have as I can good deals there with those even when things aren't on sale.