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Shopping Strategies
Most shoppers do not realize the
many savings strategies available
to them in their own grocery
stores. Most people are too busy
to take the time to plan and organize
their shopping lists, and are
simply happy if they find time to
get to the store at all! However,
some smart shoppers get a thrill
out of the intellectual challenge of
finding clever ways to figure out
their stores' savings programs and
learn how to use them to their savings
advantage. Although it can be
a fun game to learn how to be a
smart shopper, you will still end up
with serious savings if you know
what to look for at your stores. It
pays to learn how your store's
policies and savings programs
work.
Shoppers should know the
answers to these questions to
uncover their stores' savings
secrets. If you do not know the
answers to these questions for
your own store, simply ask your
store personnel and you will be on
your way to big savings!
1. Multiple Item Purchases -
such as “3 for $5.00”
When items' prices are listed in
terms of multiple item purchases,
are shoppers required to buy a
minimum number of items in
order to pay the lower price?
Many stores promote a sale price
in terms of multiple quantity purchases,
such as “20 for $10”
which seems to suggest that the
shopper needs to buy twenty
items. The store's ad may even
say “mix and match” at the top of
a page with several items listed at
“20 for $10.” However, in most
cases, each item is priced individually
(such as 50 cents each) and
shoppers do not need to buy 20
items to get the low sale price. In
rare cases, a store may require
that shoppers buy 20 items in
order to get the 50 cent price. If
your store does require a minimum
purchase, you can expect to
see a notation in the ad on on the
store shelf explaining the purchase
requirement. Although
stocking up at a low price may
make sense, buying too much of
a perishable item or an item you
find you don’t like could result in
wasting money.
2. “Buy One, Get One Free”
If the store charges half price for
each “Buy One, Get One Free”
item, that means you only have to
buy one item to realize the savings.
If you have a coupon for
that item, you will pay even less
by only having to buy one of the
sale items (as compared to dividing
the coupon savings across
two items). If your store doubles
coupons, you may even get that
item free! Having more than one
coupon for that item will allow
you to buy more than one of the
half price items to stock up at a
very low price.
3. Does your store match competitors'
prices?
Many stores, such as Walmart,
have a clear price matching policy,
which means they are willing
to match other stores' advertised
prices if you prove that the other
store's price is lower with their
advertising circular. Price matching
can save you the time and
gas expense of having to go to
several stores to get the best sale
prices at more than one store.
You can scan the advertising circulars
in your newspaper to find
the lowest price for the items you
need, or you can go online to www.shoplocal.com and
compare prices online.
Shoplocal.com makes searching
for your item easy, which saves
time as compared to leafing
through several circulars. Once
you find a lower price, simply
print that item's page from the
website or take the circular from
the paper to the price-matching
store. Have your store match the
competing store's price and pay
as little as possible for your
favorite items!
4. Does your store match competitors'
coupons?
Some grocery stores and pharmacies
will accept other stores'
coupons. Many drugstore chains
like Walgreens, Eckerd, and Rite
Aid have their own store coupons
in their weekly advertising circular.
You will not have to make an
extra trip to the drugstore in order
to save on a few of their deals if
your own grocery store will match
the drugstore's coupon price.
Drugstores frequently offer attractive
coupons for health and personal
care items, so it can be
worth the time to check their circulars
and see if your regular grocery
store will honor their price. If
not, it may be worth making a trip
to a nearby drugstore to save the most money on those items.
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