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Grocery stores go under microscope
The writers of this story did comparative shopping at numerous local grocery stores. Their findings follow in this story.
It has been a long-standing belief among people on and around campus that the Coborn’s adjacent to SCSU purposely charges more for groceries in an attempt to “rip off” college students.
Recently, research in the form of price comparison was conducted by University Chronicle reporters to find out what, if any, price differences existed between not only Coborn’s supermarkets, but also other area grocery stores. Cub Foods, Rainbow Foods and Byerly’s were included to add some dimension to the study.
A shopping list of 20 specific items was used in each store. Whenever possible, the exact brand name and size of each product were compared, to keep the study as uniform as possible. Some groceries included in the study were Lucky Charms cereal, Kemps half-gallon orange juice, Tombstone Original frozen pizza, Banquet TV dinners, Mountain Dew 24-pack, Tide laundry detergent and finally, every college student’s best study aid, Vivarin caffeine pills.
Between six stores, the total grocery bill varied by almost $17. Byerly’s was most expensive, with the total coming to $68.83.
Next came Coborn’s Centennial Plaza, ringing up at $57.68. Then Rainbow Foods, $56.03, followed by the campus Coborn’s and the Coborn’s Superstore in Sauk Rapids, scanning in at $55.84 and $55.74, respectively. Cub Foods East came in cheapest, with a total of $51.71.
Differences between Coborn’s
The belief of many students and faculty at SCSU that the campus Coborn’s charges more than other Coborn’s stores is therefore disproved. The few pricing variations that did exist between each Coborn’s store were because of special sale items and marketing techniques being used at specific stores. For all practical purposes, a product bought at the campus Coborn’s will cost the same at the Coborn’s stores at Centennial Plaza and in Sauk Rapids.
That notion (that campus Coborn’s is overpriced) has existed since the store has existed,” said Chuck Binsfeld, store manager at the campus Coborn’s. Binsfeld said that all pricing is set by the Coborn’s corporate office, so prices are generally uniform through a market area and therefore the same at every store.
Pricing disparities between stores may occur, however, because stores carry different item sizes based on the consumer demographics for that store. The campus Coborn’s tends to cater to college students and single-income households, Binsfeld said. This amounts to products in smaller quantities and containers, as Binsfeld remarked that most college students do not need an entire bag of apples or a jumbo-sized container of laundry detergent. Other locations, such as the Sauk Rapids Coborn’s, tend to cater to families, so larger quantities of some items are available.
Marketing at campus Coborn’s
While the campus Coborn’s has no special year-round marketing strategy to attract college-age shoppers, Binsfeld said it does offer back-to-school specials that run at the beginning of the school year. This is in the form of a two-week sale that focuses on items such as ramen, macaroni and cheese and other products that students are likely to purchase. While this sale is open to all shoppers, students are most likely to benefit from it. Coborn’s also makes an appearance at "Main Street" on Atwood Mall every September. Binsfeld said that the proximity of Coborn’s to campus and its low prices keep it viable in its corner of the market.
“We’re usually the lowest in our market except when we’re competing against the warehouse stores (like Cub Foods),” Binsfeld said. "We offer competitive prices and services here that other stores don’t offer."
Cub Foods is Coborn’s biggest competitor for the SCSU student market.
Phil Rosenberger, manager at Cub Foods West, said that most of the products that come in to Cub are bought through the Cub corporate office. That, coupled with Cub’s high sales volume, allows for cheaper prices in the store, which enables Cub to compete effectively.
“(The corporate office) buys in volume, and we have a higher volume store, so we don’t have to make as much on each product,” Rosenberger said.
Marketing at Cub Foods
Rosenberger also said that because stores like Coborn’s and Rainbow do not sell in as high a volume as Cub, they are forced to charge more for their groceries than Cub does.
Cub does not have any special marketing techniques aimed at college students, but instead follows its corporate advertisement program. Rosenberger said at one time, his store ran its own ads but as more stores appeared between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities, pricing inconsistencies began to occur between some stores. This confused some consumers, so all Cub stores now have the same sales and pricing scheme.
Rosenberger said he was not surprised to hear Cub was cheaper than Coborn’s; he attributed this to the economics of the two store chains being slightly different. He also took obvious pride in the appearance of his store and the shopping environment Cub provides.
“We’re from the old school, bright stores that look clean, and I personally like a brighter store,” Rosenberger said. “You’re getting the best price, we have good quality employees and good quality products out there.”
When it’s time to go grocery shopping, college students on and near SCSU’s campus are presented with two options in the form of Coborn’s and Cub Foods East. Do they pay slightly more for the convenience of a store within walking distance of campus, or do they save themselves a few bucks by driving to Cub? Everyone who chooses one store over the other probably does so for specific reasons, but it seems that both options are equally viable.
Shopping List
Cheerios 15 oz.
Campus Coborn’s: $3.53
Centennial Coborn’s: $3.53
Coborn’s Superstore: $3.53
Cub Foods East: $3.27
Rainbow Foods: $2.59
Byerly’s: $3.65*
Lucky Charms 14 oz.
Campus Coborn’s: $2.49
Centennial Coborn’s: $3.79
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.49
Cub Foods East: $3.19
Rainbow Foods: $3.09
Byerly’s: $3.89
Tide 100 oz. laundry detergent
Campus Coborn’s: $5.99
Centennial Coborn’s: $5.99
Coborn’s Superstore: $5.99
Cub Foods East: $5.98
Rainbow Foods: $7.49
Byerly’s: $8.59
Vivarin 16-tablet box
Campus Coborn’s: $2.95
Centennial Coborn’s: $2.95
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.95
Cub Foods East: $3.29
Rainbow Foods: $2.99
Byerly’s: $3.19
Kemps OJ (1/2 gallon)
Campus Coborn’s: $2.59
Centennial Coborn’s: $2.59
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.79
Cub Foods East: $2.50*
Rainbow Foods: $3.07
Byerly’s: $3.09*
Loaf of sliced white bread
Campus Coborn’s: $0.79
Centennial Coborn’s: $0.79
Coborn’s Superstore: $0.79
Cub Foods East: $0.79*
Rainbow Foods: $0.99
Byerly’s: $2.29*
Hunt’s 24 oz. ketchup
Campus Coborn’s: $1.09
Centennial Coborn’s: $1.09
Coborn’s Superstore: $1.09
Cub Foods East: $1.23
Rainbow Foods: $1.33
Byerly’s: $1.39
10-pack Oscar Meyer hot dogs
Campus Coborn’s: $2.89
Centennial Coborn’s: $2.89
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.89
Cub Foods East: $2.79
Rainbow Foods: $2.89
Byerly’s: $2.99
24-pack Mountain Dew
Campus Coborn’s: $6.99
Centennial Coborn’s: $6.99
Coborn’s Superstore: $6.99
Cub Foods East: $4.99
Rainbow Foods: $4.99
Byerly’s: $5.98*
Dawn Liquid Dish Detergent 12.6 oz.
Campus Coborn’s: $1.59
Centennial Coborn’s: $1.59
Coborn’s Superstore: $1.59
Cub Foods East: $1.39
Rainbow Foods: $1.39
Byerly’s: $2.89*
Kraft Mac and Cheese
Campus Coborn’s: $1.09
Centennial Coborn’s: $1.09
Coborn’s Superstore: $1.09
Cub Foods East: $0.87
Rainbow Foods: $0.87
Byerly’s: $0.91
3-pack Orville Redenbacker’s microwave buttered popcorn
Campus Coborn’s: $2.39
Centennial Coborn’s: $2.39
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.39
Cub Foods East: $2.13
Rainbow Foods: $2.15
Byerly’s: $2.39
Tombstone Original Pizza
Campus Coborn’s: $4.89
Centennial Coborn’s: $4.89
Coborn’s Superstore: $4.89
Cub Foods East: $4.68
Rainbow Foods: $4.78
Byerly’s: $4.79
Lays Potato Chips
Campus Coborn’s: $2.99
Centennial Coborn’s: $2.99
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.99
Cub Foods East: $2.69
Rainbow Foods: $2.99
Byerly’s: $2.99
Bounty Paper Towels
Campus Coborn’s: $1.87
Centennial Coborn’s: $1.87
Coborn’s Superstore: $1.87
Cub Foods East: $1.50
Rainbow Foods: $1.55
Byerly’s: $1.89
Banquet TV dinner
Campus Coborn’s: $1.49
Centennial Coborn’s: $1.59
Coborn’s Superstore: $1.49
Cub Foods East: $1.00
Rainbow Foods: $1.37
Byerly’s: N/A
Skippy peanut butter
Campus Coborn’s: $1.79
Centennial Coborn’s: $1.79
Coborn’s Superstore: $1.79
Cub Foods East: $1.79
Rainbow Foods: $2.09
Byerly’s: $2.63
Crest toothpaste 8.2 oz.
Campus Coborn’s: $2.17
Centennial Coborn’s: $2.17
Coborn’s Superstore: $2.17
Cub Foods East: $2.49
Rainbow Foods: $2.29
Byerly’s: $2.49
Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup
Campus Coborn’s: $0.67
Centennial Coborn’s: $0.75
Coborn’s Superstore: $0.67
Cub Foods East: $0.75
Rainbow Foods: $0.73
Byerly’s: $0.75
Tylenol Extra Strength 50 caps
Campus Coborn’s: $5.59
Centennial Coborn’s: $5.95
Coborn’s Superstore: $5.59
Cub Foods East: $4.39
Rainbow Foods: $6.69
Byerly’s: $7.19
Items marked with a * indicate quantities or brands at some stores differed
Ryan Henry contributed to this story.
Eric O'Link can be reached at: [email protected]
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