We don't shop at Walmart for groceries except for occasional pick-up items if we are already in the store for something. The produce at my local Walmart is always pretty nice and generally cheaper than Publix (the other big grocery store chain in our area). Admittedly haven't tried it again in years but the steaks we bought once at Walmart were abysmal, tough and gristly and they were rib eyes.
Publix did an item by item comparison with Walmart a while back and Publix was actually cheaper as a whole. Showed the actual receipts and items in shrink-wrapped carts in their stores. Granted, some things were cheaper, some things more expensive.
We'll buy meds, especially their $4/12 ones at Walmart plus the ones thru insurance. However, if we need an antibiotic depending on what kind it is, we'll go to Publix or 1 of the pharmacy chains (can't remember which one) because they are free for some penicillin formulations and a couple of other kinds. And I'll buy things like cat litter and toiletries because they are cheaper at Walmart than the grocery store unless they happen to be on sale at the grocery.
I'd rather shop at Publix because of the convenience of getting in/out of store. Walmart nearly always has long lines and difficult parking and Publix doesn't.
Now, I live in the "burbs" of a large metropolitan area. My dad, however, lives in a tiny, tiny town pretty much in the middle of nowhere. They have a very small Piggly Wiggly, a tiny pharmacy and a couple of Dollar-type stores. The PW often has produce that is less than fresh and quite often moldly out on the shelves and my aunt has gotten bad chicken/beef there more than once. So, they go to the Walmart that is about 45 minutes away via mostly Interstate (or longer if you get stuck behind a tractor on the way to the Interstate) to get to from their home or to the PW in the next town over. Even in the town with Walmart, it's WM or some independent grocery store that's in a less desirable part of town.
When I was there a few months ago, news had just broken that Walmart was going to put in one of those little stand-alone grocery stores in the next town over about 15 minutes away from their home. People were up in arms in sharply divided camps. The PW people of course were screaming about it because WM will put them out of business, pharmacy people too, although the 1 pharmacy in the town with the decent PW should be put out of business, it's prices are just highway robbery, $12 for a small bottle of Mylanta that is $5-6 elsewhere. Then, there are people like my stepmom who can't wait for it to get built so they don't have to travel so far.
Publix did an item by item comparison with Walmart a while back and Publix was actually cheaper as a whole. Showed the actual receipts and items in shrink-wrapped carts in their stores. Granted, some things were cheaper, some things more expensive.
We'll buy meds, especially their $4/12 ones at Walmart plus the ones thru insurance. However, if we need an antibiotic depending on what kind it is, we'll go to Publix or 1 of the pharmacy chains (can't remember which one) because they are free for some penicillin formulations and a couple of other kinds. And I'll buy things like cat litter and toiletries because they are cheaper at Walmart than the grocery store unless they happen to be on sale at the grocery.
I'd rather shop at Publix because of the convenience of getting in/out of store. Walmart nearly always has long lines and difficult parking and Publix doesn't.
Now, I live in the "burbs" of a large metropolitan area. My dad, however, lives in a tiny, tiny town pretty much in the middle of nowhere. They have a very small Piggly Wiggly, a tiny pharmacy and a couple of Dollar-type stores. The PW often has produce that is less than fresh and quite often moldly out on the shelves and my aunt has gotten bad chicken/beef there more than once. So, they go to the Walmart that is about 45 minutes away via mostly Interstate (or longer if you get stuck behind a tractor on the way to the Interstate) to get to from their home or to the PW in the next town over. Even in the town with Walmart, it's WM or some independent grocery store that's in a less desirable part of town.
When I was there a few months ago, news had just broken that Walmart was going to put in one of those little stand-alone grocery stores in the next town over about 15 minutes away from their home. People were up in arms in sharply divided camps. The PW people of course were screaming about it because WM will put them out of business, pharmacy people too, although the 1 pharmacy in the town with the decent PW should be put out of business, it's prices are just highway robbery, $12 for a small bottle of Mylanta that is $5-6 elsewhere. Then, there are people like my stepmom who can't wait for it to get built so they don't have to travel so far.
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