The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) offered the lowest-priced basket of store-brand grocery staples among four major U.S. grocery chains, according to a Restaurant Furniture Plus study reported by Southern Living. The comparison comes as households continue looking for ways to cut grocery bills.
Restaurant Furniture Plus compared the prices of 15 store-brand essentials across Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT), Aldi and Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI), including milk, bread, eggs, chicken breast, spaghetti, canned beans and baking staples.
Kroger Leads on Everyday Staples
Kroger ranked first with a total basket cost of $30 and had the lowest prices on 10 of the 15 products analyzed, according to Southern Living. The grocer also offered the lowest prices on several pantry staples, including canned diced tomatoes, spaghetti, sugar and a dozen large eggs.
Walmart finished second with a basket total of $30.95, followed by Aldi at $33.15 and Albertsons at $35.58. Aldi’s store-brand dairy products, however, stood out as a particularly strong value in the study.
The comparison excluded Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST), Trader Joe’s, H-E-B and Piggly Wiggly. Southern Living reported that Trader Joe’s lacked some products included in the comparison, while Costco’s bulk-sales model made single-item price comparisons impractical.
Grocery Costs Continue to Pressure Households
The findings come as grocery affordability remains a growing concern for U.S. households. An Urban Institute study released earlier this month found that more than one-quarter of working-age adults who used credit cards to buy groceries either could not pay their balances in full or missed minimum payments. Grocery prices have climbed 32% over the past five years, prompting more households to rely on debt and long-term savings to cover food expenses.
The latest comparison also comes weeks after Kroger agreed to acquire privately held Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion, a deal the company said would strengthen its grocery, pharmacy and digital footprint across adjacent markets.
The findings also come as competition among grocery retailers continues to intensify. Retailers have been investing in pricing, digital grocery services and store optimization to attract value-conscious shoppers. Kroger recently reported 17% growth in e-commerce sales as it continues expanding its digital grocery business.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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