Retail

Where Do People Spend More: Wal-Mart, Costco or Whole Foods?

Paul Ausick

Published: March 2, 2016 12:40 pm

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 10:05 am

The joke that Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) should actually be called Whole Paycheck reflects the fact that the organic grocer’s prices are on the high side. But how, exactly, do purchases at Whole Foods compare with purchases at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) or Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST)?

A recent analysis by researchers at Perfect Price combed through billions of credit card transactions to find out how much shoppers actually spend on groceries when they buy at these stores. The research produced a list of the top 25 food retailers by the average amount spent per trip in May and June of 2015. The top 10 are:

1. Costco, $136 average per trip
2. Sam’s Club, $81
3. Target, $62
4. HEB, $59
5. Stop & Shop, $56
6. Wal-Mart, $55
7. Meijer, $54
8. Whole Foods, $54
9. Trader Joe’s, $50
10. Kroger, $50

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