According to a recent study surveying over 60 different multivitamins, “there was almost no connection between price and quality.” [More]
supermarkets
Fewer Supermarket Shoppers Using Self-Checkout Lanes
By 9.26.11
We wrote earlier this year about the decision by Albertsons LLC, which controls about 1/3 of that grocery store brand’s outlets, to shut down self-checkout machines in favor of human cashiers. Now a new report says we supermarket shoppers are just not using the self-checkout aisle as frequently as we were in recent years. [More]
Kroger Killing Double And Triple Coupons
By 9.14.11
Continuing the anti-extreme couponer trend, Kroger announced that they’ll stop doing double and triple store coupons in North Texas stores. [More]
Starbucks To Place Single-Cup Capsules In Stores In November
By 8.31.11
Eying light coffee drinkers who don’t want to brew entire pots in the morning or lug themselves out to coffee shops to get their fixes, Starbucks will sell coffee and tea in single-cup Keurig capsules starting in November. The coffee giant aims to place the packets in all manner of marketplaces, including food, drug stores and department stores. [More]
Blue Plate Mayo Proudly Says "No Shrink Ray Here"
By 8.30.11
Blue Plate Mayo wants everyone to know that it’s still rocking the 32 oz. [More]
Extra Sneaky Grocery Shrink Ray Hits Sun Detergent
By 8.17.11
It looks like our good old friend the Grocery Shrink Ray has zapped bottles of Sun detergent. The after effect is a little extra trickier than usual, though. The new smaller size screams, “50% MORE LOADS!” while in tiny print underneath that it says “vs. 29 load size.” In reality, it has three few ounces than the older version. Sly! [More]
Not Even Warm And Fuzzy Cereals Immune From Grocery Shrink Ray
By 8.10.11
As an avid Consumerist reader, Drew knows to watch out when the boxes on the supermarket shelves get a makeover. Oftentimes these are tell-tale signs that the grocery shrink ray has been at it, reducing the amount of content you get and charging you more. His favorite cereal, Kashi Honey Sunshine, was a recent victim, dropping from 12 oz to 10.5 oz and getting a “New Look!” in the process. [More]
What If Food Labels Looked Like This?
By 8.1.11
Maybe the real reason Americans are so fat is because our food labels are so ugly. If they were easier on the eye to read, maybe more people would read them and make better eating choices. That was the idea in mind behind a recent design contest at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism aiming to give the standard government-mandated food label a much-needed makeover. The winning entry uses colored boxes for each ingredient that are sized in proportion to how much of each is inside the package. [More]
How Local Is That "Locally Grown" Produce At Your Grocery Store?
By 8.1.11
Last October, Walmart announced a pledge to double the amount of produce it purchases from local growers by 2015, with the three-pronged goal of saving on fuel costs, reducing spoilage and catering to a growing consumer appetite for local produce. But while Walmart defines “local” as grown and sold in the same state, your grocery store might have a different definition for the term. [More]
The Whole Foods Resignation Letter Of Doom
By 7.25.11
If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if you pulled back the shiny hippy veneer of Whole Foods and saw what was squiggling underneath, now’s your chance. A Whole Foods worker just cc:’d their resignation letter to the entire company, and it’s quite the mangum opus. [More]
Portland (The One In Oregon) Jumps On The Plastic Bag Ban-Wagon
By 7.22.11
In recent years, a growing number of cities all over the country have been moving to put an end to — or at least curb — the use of plastic shopping bags. Last night, in a unanimous vote, the Portland, OR, City Council approved legislation that bans the use of these bags at larger grocery stores and big-box retailers. [More]
Supermarkets Manipulating Multiples To Get You To Buy More
By 7.19.11
Supermarkets are rolling out the apparent discounts more than ever. Ten for $10! Five for $5! And shoppers, thinking they’re getting a deal, are gobbling it up. Never mind that you can get the same price if you just bought one of the items. [More]
Grocery Store Lures Customers To Spend More With Scent Machines
By 7.19.11
How many times have you been hungry, gone shopping and ended up with three packages of donut holes you really didn’t need? A grocery store in Brooklyn, N.Y. is taking advantage of grumbly tummies with scent marketing, as way to get consumers to spend more at the store. [More]
Buy Groceries From Giant QR Code Wall In Subway Station
By 7.7.11
As you wait for the subway to arrive, thoughts of errands drift through your head. Pick up medicine from the pharmacist, get package from the post office, and go get the groceries. In South Korea, Tesco has been experimenting with a system that lets you take care of that last one, right while you’re on the subway platform. It’s a wall-length billboard with photorealistic images of essential supermarket supplies. You take a picture of each item you want, grabbing its QR code, place your order, and Tesco will deliver it to your door. [More]
Get Supermarket Club Discounts With "Jenny's" Phone Number
By 7.7.11
Just because you’re buying groceries out of town doesn’t mean that you can’t get a shopper’s club discount at the supermarket, or have to go through the process of signing up for a member card. Instead, when they ask for your phone number, give them “Jenny’s.” [More]
These Kroger "Build Your Own Sixpack" Signs Are In Conflict
By 7.7.11
Karl was surprised when he saw this printed-out sign on the beer case at his local Kroger. It informed him that it was “unlawful” for the store to sell singles or six-packs where you get a six-pack box and fill it with a variety of beers of your choosing. He was surprised because just a few away were several shelves of beers underneath a giant sign that loudly advertised “Mix a Six, $8.99, Pick your style!” [More]
Turkey Hill Ice Cream Is Somehow Both "New Flavor" And "Original Recipe"
By 7.5.11
In a kind of weird labeling paradox, this Turkey Hill Homemade Vanilla ice cream is simultaneously “New Flavor” AND “Original Recipe.” Reader GR scratched his head over it and sent it in using The Consumerist Tipster App. It’s new, but it’s original, but it’s new, but it’s the original… The logic loop continues ad infinatum until all worlds collapse and the universe reaches a state of perfect entropy. I’m afraid for GR to open it; he might find Schrödinger’s cat inside. [More]
Packaging-Free Grocery Store To Open In Texas
By 6.27.11
While there are plenty of farmers’ markets or bulk spice shops you can go to buy fresh goods with zero packaging, some entrepreneurs in Austin, TX, are aiming to open what they say is the first 100% packaging-free grocery store in the country. [More]
