Aldi for me any day of the week especially for produce. I don't need a ton of variety and I'm not living there or even vacationing there so why pay for "the atmosphere". Now that said my wife does most of the shopping, and she is a bargain hunter. She will hit 3 or 4 stores to get what they have on sale.
Our local Aldi is nice but it's small. I don't mind going but only at the crack of dawn. Also, getting checked out and out the door can be a hassle.
One thing that I’ll give to ALDI all day long is their small batch sourdough bread. Three ingredients plus the starter. That’s it. No preservatives or artificial ingredients or colors. Makes great toast. Way better than anything I’ve bought at Publix. I still do the bulk of my shopping at Publix but sometimes their prices are too high relative to the convenience
Yeah, the first Aldi near me was (is) small. They have built several more in the vicinity, including one even closer, and those have been much bigger and nicer. But I agree... the place can be packed at times. Even the bigger ones.
I have zero issue where anyone shops. I posted why I prefer Publix and didn’t say anything negative about other stores except Aldi where selection isn’t any where near what I buy. That’s why I followed one of my posts with,,, to each their own. Go back and read the descriptions like Rip off, etc. Some of the comments read like some here feel victimized by their higher prices. I lol at that.
“Schlep” is a verb I used to describe having to drive a longer distance to reach a purveyor of groceries that is not Publix. It is not an adjective used to describe any person(s) choosing to shop at the retail grocery they prefer. I don’t care where anyone shops and surely don’t hold any particular opinion of a person(s) based upon their choice of retail grocery.
Publix is doing like a lot of companies are now and pushing greedflation. For example, there is no reason for a former $5 footlong sub at Subway to be $9.69 or $13-14 for a combo. It's ludicrous.
My Publix has employees everywhere. Way more than any other store in my area. They open more registers when needed. As to self serve I have no problem with them and just got back from a run and used the self checkout. I prefer to pack my own groceries the way I like them. Cold with cold with bread and eggs in the top of the bags. Not too heavy. I have reusable bags both regular and insulated. I’m into DIY.
Higher prices may be the result of the buyout last year. Subway sandwich company sold to Roark Capital for billions
"Victimized by high prices?" OK. Choosing to not pay a dollar more for the exact same product is what makes you lol? More melodramatic hyperbole. You do you.
No you just find it confusing why people choose to value their spending over products and then compare it to people complaining about others driving luxury vehicles that require premium gas. Apples to oranges but that was your conclusion on something you "don't care about."
Saying that somebody is "fleecing their customers" is not name calling. There is a pretty big difference between UF and Publix: profit and the fact that one is actually an agent of the government. However, even within a for-profit lens, the concept of pricing does not imply fleecing. Publix appears to have taken advantage of two factors in order to dramatically raise their prices. First, they have relatively limited direct competition in some markets, especially in Florida. As mentioned by many posters, they go to Publix because it is far more convenient than less convenient shopping options (like big box retailers, club stores) and cleaner than discount grocery chains (who exist by undercutting them). There is not much direct competition by which to compare their prices, lowering their customers' price sensitivity. The second is the existence of inflation, which allows them to avoid unfairness perceptions amongst their customers if they start to push their profits much higher. Their customers, if they fail to really look around at the price of a bunch of low involvement products, which we would certainly predict for many customers, will just chalk the increases up as inflation and assume that those sorts of increases happened at all stores. I view that as "fleecing" their customers as they took advantage of customers' imperfect knowledge on pricing in low involvement categories.
Aldi and Trader Joe for us. Good quality, prices and stock most items we are looking for. Publix used to be our grocer of choice. Seldom go there now.
Ugh …. wrong, “WRT Publix pricing being higher than other grocery retailers, I don’t understand why anyone cares …. or would be miffed at/by it.” If you don’t want to shop at Publix because they are priced higher than other grocery retailers ….. that’s cool as far as I’m concerned.