Stop trusting the 'average cost' on grocery store price tags

Went to the Kroger off I-70 last Tuesday and noticed the bread aisle had those little per-unit tags under the regular price. Got home and actually did the math on my receipt. The tag said 12 cents per ounce on a loaf that rang up at 18 cents an ounce. That's half again more. Checked three other staples from that trip, two were off too. It's not a mistake, they just don't update the tags when the shelf price drops or the package size changes. I've been planning my weekly meals around those numbers for months. Now I bring a small scale and a calculator app, takes 10 extra minutes in the store but I saved $14 on that one trip. Has anyone else caught this at their local chain? What do you even trust to compare prices anymore?

1 comments

1 Comment

sanchez.ivan15d ago

Funny you mention this, I caught the same thing at my local chain about a month back with their granola bars. Tag said one price per ounce but the shelf price had dropped, and the register still rang up the old amount. Now I just check the unit price on the big stuff like cereal and canned goods, but for anything with a sale sticker I do the math in my head real quick. The small scale trick works too, but honestly I mostly stick to the store brand now, their unit tags seem more honest for some reason. It's a pain but yeah, you pretty much have to double check everything these days.