I saw this headline over at the Detroit News this morning. My shopping preferences came to mind. I tend to do more shopping at Costco and Sam's Club than anywhere else. I do so for the cost. Sam's Club is the place I go for meat (I eat at least a pound of lean beef and two pounds of chicken breast daily). Chicken breast for $1.88/lb. 90% lean beef for $2.88/lb. I go to Costco for about everything else. Including my broccoli, which they sell for $4.55 for a 3-lb bag of florets (I eat almost a pound each day). One thing I've noticed about the broc is that sometimes I will see the bags ready to expire the very next day. At $4.55. I always wondered what they did with it once it expired, so I asked a stockboy one day. His answer: "we throw it away." Throw it away! My question, which I didn't ask the stockboy, was why not mark it down dramatically before it expires, so that Costco at least get part of something, rather than all of nothing? Which leads me to Kroger.
Probably in the last 6 months or so, something changed in the store. Almost overnight, there were 'clearance items;' items close to expiration that were marked down dramatically. Gallon milk to expire in a few days? $0.99. 32oz yogurt ready to go bad? $0.50. My kids tend to go through a gallon or so of milk daily, so I have found myself going to Kroger whenever I pass by, just to see if there are any clearance items around. This has to be a win-win for Kroger. They get something for food that they would have had to throw away, plus more visits from this customer making it more likely that I would pick up other goods as well. I thought this to be innovative. So it's nice to see Kroger trying to keep up with technology and offering the e-coupon option now. Could better days be ahead for Kroger? With such innovation, I would think so.
