by Eve Redstone

Created on: January 01, 2008

Which is cheaper, the convenience store or the store that is part of a chain? The easy answer is that the chain store will always be less expensive. But how much cheaper are the products and which items are most affected? Is the price of convenience worth it?

A quick survey of grocery items shows that most are far more expensive in the convenience store. Particularly items such as tinned foods, coffee, tea, nappies and pet food. Some of these may be up to double the price of the equivalent in the chain store. This is because the convenience store may only buy one case, or less, from the wholesalers and they will pay more for them than the chain will. After a mark up the goods end up more expensive. Convenience stores will often only stock the brand leader of particular products to try and keep stock turnover high. They are trying to please most of the people most of the time and so will have the perceived best product in each line they carry. The consumer is already behind in terms of choice and cost. If you were trying to live frugally then you wouldn't normally buy the brand leader. Perishable items such as dairy products and bread will be more expensive than in the big stores but not by as much as the previous items. This is because the store owner needs to sell them.

The items where this price difference shows most clearly are the non-perishables. The store owner can afford to leave these on the shelf longer and they are often the items that people run out of unexpectedly such as nappies or coffee. Snack foods are another line where the prices are often inflated, this is exactly the sort of thing we all run out to the convenience store for late at night. It is not worth the extra travel required to reach the superstore for most of us.

Items priced by the manufacturer should still be the same price. This will include newspapers but the store owner may still reprice some other items, you just have to check.

The other way you lose by shopping at the smaller stores is that you often cannot buy the larger bulk packs. They will have single packs of chips and snack bars, where you could buy bulk packs at the superstore for much less per item, often at less than half the convenience store price. Washing powders and nappies are other items where this shows up clearly.

If you are a dedicated bargain hunter you will nearly always lose out in the convenience store because they don't have the range of own brand and bulk packs that the big stores have. You may not be able to use your coupons in the smaller store and you will not be able to adjust your shopping to take advantage of bargains in the same way as you do in the big stores.

In defence of convenience stores they are just that, convenient. If you are to be a smart shopper you have to make a list before you go shopping at the superstore, and be prepared to be flexible with that list, to take advantage of specials when you get there. If you are a normal human being you will nearly always forget something, or run out of something, and that is what convenience stores are all about. The extra money you spend on one item will not break the bank. It is when you add the costs up over a week that you may be surprised and resolve to make a better list before you next go grocery shopping.

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