When a college student moves off campus and meal plans become too costly, grocery shopping becomes a weekly routine. Despite a growing campus and local population, residents have only a few options to choose from on their weekly shopping trip. We looked at four full-service grocery stores in Oxford to compare prices to aid shoppers on a budget.
The methodology here is simple: The Daily Mississippian recorded prices for the same basket of groceries at Kroger, Larson’s Cash Saver, Walmart and Dollar General on Feb. 24. The staff sought out the cheapest variation at each store — typically a generic brand.
The corporate behemoth Walmart offered the lowest basket price at $37.79, followed by Larson’s Cash Saver at $39.21 and Dollar General at $46.11. Kroger was the most expensive, coming in at $46.24.
Notably, though, some stores shined in specific categories while others fell short. After reading this article, a student might even be compelled to shop at multiple stores to save big. Here’s the full breakdown, from cheapest to most expensive:
No. 1 Walmart
Pros
- “Everyday Low Prices” — Walmart’s slogan is not lying. Due to the company’s size, Walmart can offer steep discounts with their suppliers, which translates to cheaper groceries.
- More than a grocery store — Walmart is the only grocer on this list to offer services such as oil changes, photo printing and fishing licensure.
Cons
- Overwhelming shopping experience — Compared to the other stores in this list, Walmart has the most items on the shelves and cars in the parking lot. For those looking for their shopping experience to be a “weekly reset,” this store may not be the best fit.
- Economic impact — The chain’s ultra-low prices come at a cost for local communities. A 2024 study found that communities actually became poorer after Walmart moved in compared to communities without a Walmart.
No. 2 Larson’s Cash Saver
Pros
- Affordable bread and butter — Larson’s white bread loaves and sticks of butter were lower than all of their big-chain counterparts.
- Local business — Larson’s Cash Saver is the only local grocery store out of these four businesses. In fact, Larson’s is currently the only local, full-service grocery store in Oxford with comparable prices to Walmart. In the case of Kroger and Dollar General, Larson’s offers lower prices.
Cons
- Higher specialty costs — For items that are not considered the “basics” or have no generic replacement, Larson’s prices are a bit higher. For example, a pint of vanilla ice cream at Larson’s was $2.67, which was more expensive than the other grocers.
- Construction chaos — Larson’s is located on a crowded section of University Avenue, where general construction on the road and a new roundabout has been ongoing for the past year.
No. 3 Dollar General
Pros
- Cheap generic brand — Dollar General’s in-house generic brand, Clover Valley, seems to be the second cheapest generic brand on the list, trumped only by Walmart’s Great Value brand.
- Multiple locations — Unlike the other three grocers on our list, Dollar General has more than one location in town. There are five Dollar General stores in Oxford, making them the easiest to access.
Cons
- No by-the-pound produce — Dollar General’s produce section is meager and often varies in availability from store-to-store. For budget shoppers, their lack of by-the-pound pricing is disappointing. We tried our best to show the Dollar General equivalent to the other three stores using average weight. We also found the North Lamar Boulevard location had the biggest produce selection.
- No fresh deli — You will not see a butcher at Dollar General. Their meats are pre-packaged, with ground beef only sold in plastic rolls.
No. 4 Kroger
Pros
- Specialty items — If a recipe requires an oddly specific or novelty ingredient, Kroger might be the best option. For example, Kroger has the largest range of international foods out of the four stores.
- Gas discounts — Shopping at Kroger comes with some relief when filling your car with gas. Shopping using a free Kroger card builds up monthly, per-gallon discounts on gas from their on-site station. Some Shell gas stations also allow you to use your Kroger discounts.
Cons
- High prices — Students shopping at Kroger will likely notice higher prices, even on generic-branded items. Kroger, however, does issue a huge amount of coupons, some of which are customized weekly based on your shopping habits.
