Marketing Club Does Study On Grocery Store Discount Cards
By: Paige Girard
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: News
Ever wonder if that discount card you use at the grocery store is actually saving you money? Mount Wachusett Community College's Marketing Club has the inside scoop on where to find the best prices on groceries in the area and if that card in your wallet is actually beneficial or a waste of space.
Every year the MWCC Marketing Club has to participate in two community service projects. This year the students completed a cost study based on grocery stores in six cities and towns in the Northern Worcester Country Region, to test whether the frequent shopping cards provide real value and savings. Vinny Marino, Marketing Club president, said "The goal of this project is to figure out if it's more beneficial to shop at a store with a price discount card as opposed to one without."
The first step in this project was to purchase the groceries. The five stores the club shopped at were Market Basket, Shaw's, Hannaford's, Big Y, and Shop & Stop. The group had a list composed of nineteen items they needed to purchase and analyze. The items on the list were basic everyday essentials such as milk, cereal, bread, pasta, soap and deodorant. Once they found the items they needed they wrote down the price of the item with the discount card, and the price without.
The conclusion of this project was that stores offering the discount cards, such as Stop & Shop, Shaw's and the Big Y, have a higher average price than the stores that do not use cards. The study revealed that shoppers can save more money by buying their items at Market Basket or Hannaford's, which do not use the cards. According to Marino, a store like Market Basket offers everyday low prices for anyone who shops there regardless if you have a card or not. The price differential of Market Basket compared to the other stores was about a two cent difference. "Market Basket was consistent across the boards price wise," Marino said.
All the food items that were purchased to make this project possible were funded by the Marketing Club from fundraisers like bake sales. Once the group was done with the groceries they were all donated to Ginny's Food Pantry in Leominster, Massachusetts. A total of $318 worth of food was donated. During a recent phone interview with Ginny, the owner of Ginny's Food Pantry, said, "I'm so grateful for what they did, it blew me away. I couldn't believe it at all when they walked in with all that food, it was certainly a big help."
Ginny, also mentioned how the food that was the best of the best, name brand food which she doesn't receive regularly.
Every year the MWCC Marketing Club has to participate in two community service projects. This year the students completed a cost study based on grocery stores in six cities and towns in the Northern Worcester Country Region, to test whether the frequent shopping cards provide real value and savings. Vinny Marino, Marketing Club president, said "The goal of this project is to figure out if it's more beneficial to shop at a store with a price discount card as opposed to one without."
The first step in this project was to purchase the groceries. The five stores the club shopped at were Market Basket, Shaw's, Hannaford's, Big Y, and Shop & Stop. The group had a list composed of nineteen items they needed to purchase and analyze. The items on the list were basic everyday essentials such as milk, cereal, bread, pasta, soap and deodorant. Once they found the items they needed they wrote down the price of the item with the discount card, and the price without.
The conclusion of this project was that stores offering the discount cards, such as Stop & Shop, Shaw's and the Big Y, have a higher average price than the stores that do not use cards. The study revealed that shoppers can save more money by buying their items at Market Basket or Hannaford's, which do not use the cards. According to Marino, a store like Market Basket offers everyday low prices for anyone who shops there regardless if you have a card or not. The price differential of Market Basket compared to the other stores was about a two cent difference. "Market Basket was consistent across the boards price wise," Marino said.
All the food items that were purchased to make this project possible were funded by the Marketing Club from fundraisers like bake sales. Once the group was done with the groceries they were all donated to Ginny's Food Pantry in Leominster, Massachusetts. A total of $318 worth of food was donated. During a recent phone interview with Ginny, the owner of Ginny's Food Pantry, said, "I'm so grateful for what they did, it blew me away. I couldn't believe it at all when they walked in with all that food, it was certainly a big help."
Ginny, also mentioned how the food that was the best of the best, name brand food which she doesn't receive regularly.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
discount card fundraisers
posted 2/16/10 @ 5:23 PM EST
Hmm interesting to hear that the markets that offer the cards have a higher average starting price. My son brought home a discount card that featured discounts from a lot of different local businesses. (Continued…)
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