Shopping in the Time of the Coronavirus

[kcmets]

Mets get top shelf priority over Skanks at Uncle Giuseppe's ...

[MFS62]

Three cheers for Uncle Giuseppe.
Later

[MFS62]

When was the last time you bought gas?
Over six weeks for us.
Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I bought gas last week, but for the first time in about six weeks. At the rate I've been driving, I'm probably good through the rest of May and June as well.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't go through a lot of gas anyway ... but in this case my last purchase was April 1st and I'll likely cruise thru June as well.

The irony of all this is that gas is so cheap now I almost want to buy some before the price inevitably turns back around, but the tank is maybe 3/4 full.

[MFS62]

Mothers Day is this Sunday, folks.
Don't forget to place your on-line orders early enough for timely delivery.
Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I already have a mother.

[MFS62]

I already have a mother.

Grumbling no good deed goes unpunished.
Later

[batmagadanleadoff]

April saw the sharpest increase in grocery store prices in nearly 50 years
Even as the consumer price index dips overall, Americans are seeing record hikes in the prices of meats, vegetables and cereals

Excerpt:

Grocery prices showed their biggest monthly increase in nearly 50 years last month, led by rising prices for meat and eggs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

U.S. consumers paid 4.3 percent more in April for meats, poultry, fish and eggs, 1.5 percent more for fruits and vegetables, and 2.9 percent more for cereals and bakery products, the Labor Department said.

Overall, consumers paid 2.6 percent more in April for groceries, the largest one-month jump since February 1974.

The jump in food prices came in a month when more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs, driving 1 in 5 households into food insecurity.

The increase in food prices was in marked contrast to a broader decline in the basket of goods that makes up the U.S. consumer price index, which fell 0.8 percent in April, the largest single-month decline since 2008.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... -50-years/

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

One reason food prices are going up is that demand is such that manufacturers and retailers are doing all they can just to get shit to the shelves and back again. Until COVID came along US shoppers were spending a little more than half their food $$ on restaurant food, suddenly nearly all of that spending shifted back to food stores.

In order to do that, food makers are curtailing the breadth of stuff they typically send to concentrate on that which they can produce enough of. Some stuff like flour, hand sanitizer, TP and now meat becoming scarcer, but also the curtailing of shit (you'll find Capn Crunh, but not Capn Crunch Gluten Free with Cranberries) means less stuff offered on deals--less stuff "on sale."

Also stores needn't lure shoppers away from alternatives like restaurants that they typically might. They just need to open the doors and be sure they are safe environments.

And paying for the added safety measures (worker hourly pay, installation of plexiglass barriers, sanitation, greater online sales which are more expensive per order to execute) will come out of higher profit margins and rising leverage that come with higher prices

[kcmets]

The biggest hit we're taking here is the 'nothing is on sale anymore' thing. There are things
I only buy when they're on special at Shop-Rite, like Italian Tomatoes for example. I made
sauce the other day, and between the regular no-sale price of the tomatoes and the extra
price per pound of the meats I figured it cost about 200% more to make than normal.

It's a couple of bucks here and a couple of bucks there but 200% is still 200%.

I haven't bought a can of tuna fish in nearly two months. It just pains me to pay triple for
the same can of albacore than what I would have bought only on sale in February.

[Fman99]

I noticed I'm paying more per week but had chalked it up to buying more lunch stuff for the kids and more dinner stuff for all of us because we're not eating out any more. I've given up on take out - it's never hot enough by the time we get it on the table and I hate paying $50 for a lukewarm dinner.

[Ceetar]

I'm bad with keeping track of prices, so I haven't necessarily noticed. Delivery situation is pretty good here though, been ordering extra since having an extra few slices of pizza or another chinese food dish, etc, in the fridge helps cover some lunches, etc.

still can't find bread flour or wheat gluten in the stores though.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

The biggest hit we're taking here is the 'nothing is on sale anymore' thing. There are things
I only buy when they're on special at Shop-Rite, like Italian Tomatoes for example. I made
sauce the other day, and between the regular no-sale price of the tomatoes and the extra
price per pound of the meats I figured it cost about 200% more to make than normal.

It's a couple of bucks here and a couple of bucks there but 200% is still 200%.

I haven't bought a can of tuna fish in nearly two months. It just pains me to pay triple for
the same can of albacore than what I would have bought only on sale in February.

Yeah, that sucks but it's how we've all been conditioned to shop, and a major point of difference between shopping at ShopRite which might be most "promotional" (or in industry jargon "hi-low") retailer in the US, and shopping at Walmart or Aldi which rely less on temporary price reductions in favor of "everyday" value.

TBH, the industry (even shoprite--check out the "Right Price Promise" signs) has been moving toward the Walmart model for some time, and Walmart toward the Aldi model, which is even more efficient. It means less margin for the operators which make $$ on the mix of shit in your basket-- they take a loss on tuna, but make up for it in markeed up bread and mayo) and the "excitement" of the sales drive traffic.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I really enjoy these insights, by the way.

The ingredient I've been having most trouble with is vanilla extract. I think more people are baking since they're stuck at home.

[Ceetar]

I really enjoy these insights, by the way.

The ingredient I've been having most trouble with is vanilla extract. I think more people are baking since they're stuck at home.

I literally have like four large bottles of it. just the plain mccormick stuff. inherited three just before this all started. (go ahead and come pick one up, it's yours)

[Frayed Knot]

I've noticed the lack of sale stuff too, especially on a handful of staples that I tend to stock up on when they go on periodic sales.
But there's essentially no point in stores putting stuff on sale when they don't know whether they'll even be able to get enough to support it. Between meat plant shutdowns, busted up
supply chains, or suppliers simply trying to play catch up to replace binge buying shortages (paper and cleaning products) they just can't plan for what's going to be available as I'm sure
they normally have to have their ducks in a row weeks in advance of advertising a special.

[metsmarathon]

when i used to track my savings from sale items and coupons, i usually ended up maybe saving 8-10% off my bill, but that generally meant that i was intentionally buying shit on sale just to boost my percentage, that i might not otherwise have bought. i eventually realized that along that path lay madness.

currently, i'm not tracking what i buy that's on sale, only that when the stuff that i buy does go n sale, i buy more of it then, if i need it.

my shopping bills have gone up a bit, but i've attributed it to not paying for takeout as much, or school lunches, and having more meals and snacks to put into mouths each day.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Viral video shows Staten Island store mob screaming at woman without mask



https://nypost.com/2020/05/25/viral-vid ... hout-mask/

Good. Those people not wearing masks in public should be shamed so brutally and cruelly, that they'll never dare go out without a mask again. This is a matter of life and death.

[kcmets]

I didn't wear a mask at the store until they wouldn't let me in without one. I
absolutely hate it and hope ends soon. But it's not going to. No Korea or Iran
are probably cooking up something five times worse now seeing how a some
germs can bring the world to it's knees.

[LWFS]

Viral video shows Staten Island store mob screaming at woman without mask



https://nypost.com/2020/05/25/viral-vid ... hout-mask/

Good. Those people not wearing masks in public should be shamed so brutally and cruelly, that they'll never dare go out without a mask again. This is a matter of life and death.

I mean... to be fair, the group screaming probably didn't help so much, from a particle-spreading standpoint. But then, they were also all wearing droplet-trapping masks.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Viral video shows Staten Island store mob screaming at woman without mask



https://nypost.com/2020/05/25/viral-vid ... hout-mask/

Good. Those people not wearing masks in public should be shamed so brutally and cruelly, that they'll never dare go out without a mask again. This is a matter of life and death.

I mean... to be fair, the group screaming probably didn't help so much, from a particle-spreading standpoint. But then, they were also all wearing droplet-trapping masks.

According to the Post article, one outraged shopper took off his mask to yell at the unmasked shopper. Yikes. Stay away from unmasked shouters. Their germs carry farther and in greater quantities.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I didn't wear a mask at the store until they wouldn't let me in without one. I
absolutely hate it and hope ends soon.

???????????????

WTF????????????????????????

But you complain about the shopper who discarded her latex gloves on the parking lot floor.

[Fman99]

The masks suck, I'm with Kase. I didn't wear one at the store until they were mandated and I will stop wearing one in the store once they no longer require it.

[Ceetar]