When you Grocery Shop Matters!

For most people grocery shopping is not the most fun. In fact, before prices started rising and stock shortage issues, I actually liked going grocery shopping, not so much anymore.

In order to really start saving money at the grocery store you will need to know some important information to make better buying decisions. The best ways to save money on your grocery budget is to know when grocery stores are the busiest, when stores are the least crowded, when grocery stores stock their inventory, best days to buy meat, is it more expensive on the weekends, and how to bargain shop at the grocery store!

What is the Busiest Day of the Week for Supermarkets?

If you have ever been to a grocery store on the weekend in the afternoon, you know that it is super busy. According to Google Maps, lots and lots of people do their shopping on the weekends and in the prime hours of 12pm to 3pm.

This totally makes sense for most families. Most people work during the week and only have free time on the weekends to do their shopping.

This means that if you go to the grocery store on a Saturday afternoon, you can expect that there will be lots of people and you may have to wait a while to check out.

If you want to avoid the crowds at the grocery store but can only shop on the weekends, try going early in the morning or in the evenings.

What days and times are the grocery store least crowded?

On the other hand, it totally makes sense that grocery stores will be least crowded during the week and specifically in the morning.

The absolute least crowded time to go to the grocery store is at 8am on a Monday. Most of us are just trying to get kids to school and get to work at that time. The idea of going grocery shopping early in the morning on a Monday is just not happening for most people.

Plus, Mondays are the start of a new week, and we are focused on more pressing issues than grocery shopping.

If shopping first thing on a Monday is not going to work for you, then try shopping on Monday evenings, or any other weekday morning.

If you absolutely hate grocery shopping, check out “Why is Grocery Shopping so Exhausting? and we give tips and tricks to make grocery shopping more tolerable!

When do grocery stores restock?

Most grocery stores do a significant amount of business all week long, so you may notice that you see lots of stockers putting inventory on the shelf.

Even smaller independent grocery stores are in a constant state of stocking merchandise. This not only means putting out the freshest and newest grocery items, but this also means getting rid of overstock and outdated merchandise.

Typically, you will see grocery stockers putting new inventory behind old inventory. This is the “First In – First Out” rule. While grocery stores want to supply the newest and freshest ingredients to shoppers, they also don’t want to push older inventory in the back where you may not purchase it.

Pro Tip: If you want the freshest and newest produce, always check at the back of the display. Newer items are placed at the back of the shelf to ensure that the oldest produce gets purchased first before it starts to go bad.

If you are buying an item that you plan on having in your pantry for a long time because you don’t use it that often like baking powder, then you may want to grab an item from the back of the shelf. The furthest expiration or best by date will be in the back.

Now if you know that you will be using the product completely in the next 1-2 weeks like a block of cheddar cheese, then go ahead and purchase the first one on the shelf.

I do always warn people to check expiration dates and best buy dates on food before they purchase an item. Even though these dates are just suggestions and not federally regulated, they do come in handy for decision purposes.

If I am buying something like sour cream, I am less likely to buy a tub with an expiration date within the next few days. I might not use it all right away, so I am going to want to buy more time in my purchase.

Technically food does not spoil on the day of the expiration date, but when it comes to dairy or meat products, I am more likely to buy based on the longer expiration date.

When it comes to non-perishable items, I am much more flexible in the expiration or best buy date. I will still use dry pasta that is 3 months past its date as long as the packaging has not gotten damp or wet.

Best Day to Buy Meat at the Grocery Store

Now that we know that grocery stores are the busiest on the weekends and that grocery stores are constantly stocking their inventory, why is this important?

This knowledge is going to help us find the best deals in a grocery store! If you are looking to save money on meat, then you will definitely want to shop on Monday mornings.

Grocery stores typically overstock their meat cases on the weekend for the expected large volume of buyers that will be coming in to shop.

That means that if those buyers don’t end up buying a product that they put a lot of on display, that product is more likely to be marked down on Monday morning.

Just like the dry goods aisle at the grocery store, the meat displays are constantly being stocked. The average grocery store keeps fresh meat inside the store for about 10-14 days.

Depending on the volume of sales that the average grocery store does, once the meat is put in the display case it is usually only available for 3-4 days.

On Thursdays and Fridays, a grocery store may stock their meat cases really high for the expected higher volume of traffic on the weekends. Then on Mondays and Tuesdays, they will mark down any meat that did not sell in that 3-4 day span.

For more information about saving money on meat, check out this article, “How to save money on buying meat.”

Is it more expensive to grocery shop on the weekend?

This sounds like a strange question, but the answer is actually yes that grocery shopping on the weekend can be more expensive.

The average grocery retailer is less likely to markdown or do manager special deals on the weekends because they know the majority of their traffic comes on Saturdays and Sundays. This means the odds of finding a great deal on the weekend is much lower than during the week.

Sales flyers for grocery stores typically run from Wednesday to Tuesday. If a grocery store has a great deal on a product, there is a good chance that the product will be sold out by the weekend.

Bargain hunters know that there is only a limited amount of supply of really good sales deals so they will make their purchases right after a new ad starts. This means weekend shoppers are less likely to be able to buy the good deals in the sales flyer.

If a store is managing its inventory efficiently, they will make sure their product is available every day of the ad, but if it is a super good deal the availability of all flavors and options may be less on the weekend or at the end of the sales period.

If you ever miss out on any advertised deals at the grocery store, ask for a rain check! To find out more information check out “Rain Checks at the Grocery Store?”.

Bargain Shopping at the Grocery Store

If you take the information about when a grocery store is most busy, how their sales work, and when to buy products, you can really score some great bargains while grocery shopping.

For example, we only buy Chockful of Nuts coffee when it is on super special at one grocery store. These large cans typically retail for $11.99-12.99 as the regular retail price.

About 4 times a year, my local grocery store chain puts these large cans on sale for anywhere from $4.99 to $6.99 a can. This means that if I buy this item on sale, I am saving almost half the price.

I know that I am not going to stop drinking coffee anytime soon, so I have no problem stocking up on super cheap coffee. Every time the store has its coffee sale, I typically buy 4-6 cans depending on how many cans I have at home.

At any given time, I have 3-6 cans of coffee at my house. I know that we typically go through 1 can of coffee per month, so having coffee on hand to last at least 3 months is essential.

In order to score this amazing deal on coffee, I know that I want to go to the grocery store on Wednesday morning to make sure that they have enough product for me to buy. We happen to only like the Dark Satin roast and my store usually only has 6 in stock at any given time.

This is mainly because it is not the most popular flavor and because these cans come in 6 to a box. I have a much better chance of buying 3-6 cans of coffee if I go at the beginning of the sale and not on the weekends.

Pro Tip: If you want to keep multiple quantities of items that you use regularly, start using a marker to put the date on the item when you buy it. We store coffee in our garage fridge and try to put the newer items in the back and bring the older items to the front. It is so much easier if the date is on the can. We also mark which can is open, so you don’t have to guess and possibly open two cans at once.

Are there any products that you snag a ton of whenever it is on sale? Leave a comment below and tell me what sales you are jumping on at the grocery store!

If you find yourself needing to go to the grocery store but don’t have a vehicle, check out “Grocery Shopping without a Car” for tips and tricks!