We’ve all had that weird experience when suddenly, the cashier will just force you to take a bunch of the cash from the cash register. And then, because that’s so weird, the instinct is to just flee, right? Wait, that’s not normal, you say? Weird. But that’s what one guy accused of robbing a local grocery store is claiming. [More]
grocery stores
Guy Accused Of Sticking Needles Into Grocery Store’s Packaged Meat “Just For The Hell Of It”
By 8.1.14
There are crusades, campaigns, and goals that some people are aiming for when they decided to cross the law. But then sometimes there’s no real reason to do others harm: Federal prosecutors say a 68-year-old Illinois man stuck sewing needles into packaged meat at the same grocery store near his home at least seven times “just for the hell of it.” [More]
Whole Foods Recalls Dozens Of Products Containing Potentially Listeria-Ridden Fruit
By 7.24.14
Fruit from California’s Wawona Packing Company tested positive for Listeria contamination, and now consumers get to look on in horror as we learn how widely that fruit was distributed. Items like fruit tarts and mango-peach salsa made in-store at Whole Foods using the affected fruit were sold between June 1 and July 21, 2014. [More]
This Will Make You Feel Old: Bar Code Scanning Just Turned 40
By 6.26.14
Get a flaming cake out and take a deep breath, party people, because it’s time to feel old: The Universal Product Code was first put into use only 40 years ago, when a $0.67 10-pack of Wrigley’s gum was scanned by a cashier at an Ohio grocery store on June 26, 1974. Yes, bar codes have only been on the things we buy for 40 years. [More]
Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Costco Agree To Finally Put Unit Pricing Online
By 6.17.14
When shopping online, it can be difficult to compare prices between similar products because they come in slightly different size containers — or to see if you’re really getting a good deal by buying in bulk — because many e-tail websites don’t include unit pricing to tell you many dollars per ounce/gram/liter or other standard unit of measure. But today, some of the biggest names in retail agreed to start listing unit prices, while the biggest name in online shopping won’t commit. [More]
Let’s All Move To Wisconsin, Land Of Plenty
By 5.30.14
Full disclosure: I grew up in Wisconsin (as some may have noticed due to frequent mentions of cheese and the almighty Green Bay Packers) but hear me out when I say everyone should just move there: According to a new report, Wisconsin has 2.7 times more bars than grocery stores. [More]
Woman Convicted Of Putting Pins And Needles In Food Sues Grocer For $8 Million
By 5.27.14
This story has the appearance of a wacky news story, but is just sad all around. Back in 2009, a grocery co-op in Calgary banned a woman from the premises for shoplifting. Authorities say that the following year, she began a campaign of malicious food adulteration, planting needles, pins, and nails in the store’s products. Now she’s suing the store for defamation. [More]
All Squash Weighs Four Ounces At Stop & Shop, Regardless Of Size
By 5.2.14
We all learned in elementary school that an object’s mass and its size are different things. A pound of cotton candy is much larger than a pound of, say, raisins, because raisins are so much denser. Yet this package of squash that reader Adam spotted at Stop & Shop would have us believe that some of the same vegetable are twice as dense as others. [More]
Safeway Has Limits For Soft Drink Purchases, Isn’t Sure What They Are
By 3.12.14
For some time now, we at Consumerist have been worried about Target, since the retailer’s pricing shows little to no grounding in reality. Now the disease has spread to Safeway, maybe. Reader David is still scratching his head over this shelf tag that he found last week. [More]
Free Rat Included In Supermarket Bakery Apple Cake
By 2.24.14
A Long Island man wanted only one thing for his 96th birthday celebration: a German apple ring cake from grocer King Kullen. Sounds festive and delicious. When the family cut into it during his party, though, they found something extra mixed in. Nope, not extra apple filling or a bonus cinnamon swirl. (Warning: there are photos after the jump.) [More]
Study: Most Supermarket Coupons Pile On The Savings For Junk Food, Sugary Drinks
By 1.30.14
There you are, making sure every single store coupon you can possibly use is going to cut down on that grocery bill. But while the prices are slimming down with the discounts offered by supermarkets, the foods with the most discounts could be expanding your waistline. [More]
3 Lessons We Learned About The Produce Section That Will Change Your Next Grocery Trip
By 1.28.14
We all know there’s a grand design in place at the supermarket, with every detail planned and planted specifically to solicit the ultimate reaction: “I’ve gotta buy this.” It’s no different in the microcosm of the produce section, says a 30-year-veteran of A&P supermarkets, and the amount of thought that goes into convincing shoppers we want — nay, need! — to buy something will change the way you look at fruits and veggies. [More]
17 Supermarket Tricks, Tips And Insider Secrets You’re Probably Clueless About
By 1.23.14
We’ve always known the supermarket is a veritable jungle, set with snares and traps designed to lure even the most observant shopper into buying whatever that heavenly smelling thing is, or lulling us into a contented stupor so we linger longer in the aisles. And now thanks to the combined effort of experts, analysts and grocery store employees, we know even more. Prepare yourselves. [More]
Ex Trader Joe’s President To Sell Food Past Its Sell-By Date, But Don’t Call It ‘Expired’
By 1.22.14
For months, grocery business watchers have been waiting for the eventual opening of The Daily Table, a store created by former Trader Joe’s president Doug Rauch that will offer food items beyond their “sell by” dates. The problem, says Rauch, isn’t getting the food, it’s convincing consumers that it’s safe to eat. [More]
Bag Of Frozen Spinach Comes With Free Bird Head
By 1.9.14
Poultry and spinach go well together, but that doesn’t mean that a Florida woman was happy to see that her frozen spinach came with some free meat. Mostly because it came in the form of the tiny skull (eyes included…well, one eye) of an unidentified bird. [More]
Introducing The Most Worthless Coupon Ever
By 12.27.13
Coupons and promotions are great things to get customers into a store and to get our attention, but sometimes you have to stop and say, “Wait a minute.” Here are two cases of inauspicious promotions that readers have spotted lately: a stack of worthless coupons, and a gift card advertised at its face value. [More]
4 Things To Do Instead Of Pulling A Gun When You Can’t Get The Parking Spot You Want
By 12.4.13
There are things in this world worth fighting over. And while for many a prime parking spot a the grocery store might be one such reason, that doesn’t mean you should pull a shotgun on your fellow shopper for a below par parking job. We’ve got some other ideas on how to handle such a situation. [More]
Winn-Dixie Thinks No One Will Want To Buy Groceries If A Strip Club Opens Next Door
By 10.15.13
A grocery store could have the freshest produce, tastiest selection of deli meats and aisles fairly bursting with all kinds of items you’d want to buy — but does it matter who’s moved in next door? A Winn-Dixie in Florida thinks so, and is fighting to keep a strip club from opening its doors next to a location used by the store for 30 years. [More]
