CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Dollar General is the overall basket price leader delivering a substantial savings to the value shopper, Kantar Retail's second annual opening price point (OPP) survey confirms.
The OPP survey measures how selected retailers are meeting the cross-category needs of the low-income shopper who is seeking the lowest prices to fulfill basket requirements. In this year's study, Kantar Retail selected 20 categories across the edible grocery, nonedible grocery and HBA segments. It expanded the study this year to include Dollar General along with the same six retailers surveyed in 2011 including Walmart, Stop & Shop, Family Dollar, Aldi, Target and Walgreens. Retailers included in the survey are located in the Northeast.
The addition of Dollar General to this year's study is consequential, Kantar Retail said. With the economy still struggling to gain momentum and low-income shoppers continuing to seek ways to spend less, Dollar General offers a credible basket price advantage to shoppers, largely without price cuts and via national brands.
Dollar General offered an 18% overall basket savings driven by lower OPPs in its edible and non-edible baskets representing a substantial savings to the value shopper
Walgreens, for the second year, had the most expensive total basket, driven by sharply higher edible and non-edible grocery baskets
Walmart offered the second cheapest overall basket, though 18% higher than the OPP basket at Dollar General
"Dollar General's basket price leadership at the OPP level is impressive," said Leon Nicholas, Kantar Retail senior vice president and contributor to the study. "Though Walmart had a less-expensive HBA basket, the retailer's assertion of overall basket price leadership to the value-focused shopper on an everyday basis was not established by our study."
Walmart's much-publicized price investments in grocery, designed to create "price separation" in the market, were beaten handily by Dollar General.
"The results of our study suggest that temporary price cuts or the use of KVIs to create the perception of a price advantage, will not win the battle for the value shopper's dollar," Nicholas said. Aggressive, everyday pricing across categories will be a requirement to overtake Dollar General's advantage at the opening price point.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Kantar Retail is a leading shopper and retail insights and consulting business.
Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General is a "dollar store" retailer focusing on delivering everyday household needs, food and basic apparel in convenient, neighborhood-size stores. It offers products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices. In addition to private brands, Dollar General sells products from manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Kellogg's, General Mills, Nabisco, Hanes, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.
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