The new city grocery chains are certainly vying for each and every single impressionable shopper with their glossy new stores and pretty, pretty produce. But Whole Foods is taking the fight into a new arena: They will be touting low prices in an upcoming ad campaign. It's practically like Every Day Low Prices - does that mean will we see BYOGOF (Buy One Get One Free), too? It seems Whole Foods is trying to extend its appeal from that "fancy organic place" to that "fancy organic place with good prices," perhaps trying to take a little from Trader Joe's lustre. The NY Times, which will be running some of the ads in The City section, analyzed prices of grocery stores in the Union Square nexus and found some interesting results:
In several cases, Whole Foods' prices were, in fact, the lowest. An 8-ounce package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese was $1.99 at Whole Foods, compared with $2.19 at Walgreen's and $2.99 at the Food Emporium. A 15-ounce box of Kashi Crunch cereal was $2.49 at Whole Foods, compared with $2.69 at Trader Joe's and $3.49 at Food Emporium.
This confirms what we knew all along: Food Emporium is ridiculously overpriced. But whether or not Whole Foods' new tactic will work remains to be seen, Whole Foods does have a wider selection of products than Trader Joe's.
Do you think Whole Foods is a better value? Does this campaign turn you on or off? And at Fairway, there had been (is it still there?) an amusing sign showing how Fairway prices are cheaper than Whole Foods and FreshDirect.
