3 On Your Side: Discount Grocery Stores
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- According to a recent survey, one third of Americans say they have trouble affording their groceries. Because of that, discount grocery stores are on the rise. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan tells us about a few you may have been curious about.
For the savvy supermarket shopper, saving money on food doesn't mean coupons or sales at large chains. Instead, they're flocking to a growing list of discount grocery stores popping up around the country.
Watch this video...
At Save-A-Lot it's no frills shopping. You bag your own groceries, the stores are small and the brand names are few and far between. But all of that equals big discounts for customers. It may not have a fancy bakery or deli counter, but this discount store does have items like canned vegetables for just 49 cents.
It's those savings are driving more customers to discount grocery stores. Save-A-Lot, with 12-hundred stores in 39 states, plans to double the company's size within the next 5 years, while discounter Aldi--with more than 11-hundred stores in 30 states--will add more than 80 new stores in 2011.
Phil Lempert of SupermarketGuru.com says, "People really have gotten frustrated going into supermarkets that are loaded with 50,000 items. These stores on average are about a third or a quarter of the size. So you are able to get in the store, find what you want fast, and get out."
Save-A-Lot and Aldi are able to keep prices low by selling private label brands, meaning these are brands specific to those stores.
For locations near you, click on the links below:
Save-A-Lot
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
