Reader Siri has a question about the best time to shop
Question:
What is the best day/time to go to the grocery store? With three kids at home under 6, I can’t afford to shop all the stores for all the deals, so I focus on Shop Rite. I menu plan each week and usually end up there on Saturday or Sunday morning. If I don’t get there by 9 am, I’m always sorry because it quickly becomes a madhouse. What time do most coupon cutters go to the grocery store? Is there a better time of day? Thanks!
I personally like to shop at night. I find, at my store, if I go about an hour before closing, it’s the easiest. What do you guys find to be the easiest for you?
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{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree, at night time is usually the best time to go. I usually go around 9-10pm. Some grocery stores near me are open 24 hours, so I’ve gone in the middle of the night, as well. During the weekdays, I have gone during the daytime (around 12-2pm) and it’s been pretty slow.
My children are both in school now so the best time for me is right after I drop them off. Puts me at the store around 8 am on a weekday. It’s pretty quiet at that time. But if I can’t do an early weekday morning then I would say a weekday night (after 7 pm) would be a great time too.
I also have three kids under 5 & I would love to shop at night, but that’s close to impossible. So, I shop Monday mornings around 9am and I drop off my two older kids at the Scrunchie’s playground and then I only have my little one with me. Much easier! They can even stay at the playground until after I check out. Perfect. We LOVE Ms. Diane at the Wall NJ Scrunchies! And I find that Monday mornings are dead at our shop rite.
scrunchies playground…your shoprite has a play area????
There’s a Scrunchies in the Branchburg store too — not big, but it was a lifesaver when my kids were little.
Stacey, I’m in Howell. What is this Scrunchie’s playground? A playground in the supermarket? As a mom of three kids 5 and under too, this sounds pretty great!
Hey guys, YES, it’s a play room behind customer service and they staff it with usually the same people each week, so we get to know the ladies. It’s free for kids potty trained to 8 years old! If your child has to go potty, they just call you on the loud speaker. They have one in Wall and one in Brick, but I MUCH prefer the SR in Wall! Less crowded usually.
Yes, I too LOVE the Scrunchies Playhouse in our ShopRite in Medford, NJ! My kids ASK to get dropped off there all the time! How else would one couponing Mom get all of her shopping done?!?!
I also shop at ShopRite in Medford..
Hello Neighbor !
Great! I’ll have to check it out.
I have a baby, so nighttime is not an option – I’m also a Shoprite Shopper, and I find that either Monday morning around 10 or Thursday around 11 are both great times.
I do my main shopping at Shoprite on Tuesday mornings. I have a two year old and a 6 month old that I bring with me. There are not that many shoppers, probably because most people are at work. There are usually older people since Tuesday is the senior discount. For drug stores and if I have to go back to Shoprite for another deal, I do those at night when the kids are in bed. The stores are usually empty then!
I have shopped day & night, and do it differently each week, depending on my schedule, but I find it much more peaceful at night. I can go without kids, because my husband stays home after they’re in bed, and there are no people behind me in line rolling their eyes at my coupons. PLUS, I just discovered that my Shoprite marks down meat every day after 8pm!! I will be a night shopper more often now
I have three kids so I shop Sunday first thing in the morning when m husband is available to watch the kids. When he is not available I wait until Tuesday morning to go to the store. I find that Monday mornings at Shop Rite the sale items are cleared from the shelves and that if I wait until Tuesday the shelves are restocked.
I tend to shop early on Sunday mornings and late in the evenings any other day.
We usually use that as our time together….late at night. I find shopping an hour before they close so peaceful. If we cannot make it at night, the other best time is right when they open up! I do not like crowds and I think the deals are easier to find if you don’t feel like you are blocking an aisle or having to move your cart for someone while you are looking, I think that just breaks your concentration. Heaven knows when we shop with coupons we sure need to be on our game!
I am a night time shopper as well.
I have 2 under 2, and DH sits with them on Saturday nights when i go shopping.
It is easiest to go after 930pm and i noticed that the cashiers are less likely to give you a hard time when they want to get out of there. Also, a younger crowd usually works the registers at my shoprite at night and they are also less likely to scrutinize every single coupon.
I prefer going at night, mostly because I can’t wake up early enough to make an “early” shopping time! If I try to go as soon as I get up, the store will be packed. I like going after work, especially since my preferred ShopRite is on my route from work to home, so no extra trips.
As Annie said, later in the day most supermarkets mark down their meat and produce whose “sell by” date is coming up. Pathmark, Stop and Stop and A&P all put extra “$1.00″ or more off stickers on the products, depending on the base price; ShopRite will reduce it 30 to 50%. This also works for prepared foods and fresh bread: just yesterday I picked up a poached salmon salad for 50% off–delicious, perfectly fresh, and I didn’t have to cook dinner in this heat!
If you have time before work on weekdays, I see a lot of dedicated shoppers getting in right when the store opens on weekdays. I can’t do that because of work, but sometimes I stop in there in the mornings to pick up a sandwich from the deli counter for lunch (also usually marked down from the night before).
I have always gone in the morning because I get out of work at 6am, so I go straight there and it is peaceful with very few people in the store, but I think I will start going at night now that I am hearing about the discount on meats and packaged foods. I never thought about that before, I am grateful people shared that tip!
I suspected the answer was at night! I’m skeptical because I always feel so exhausted at night, but I guess I should give it a try at least once, since our weekends are getting busier as the kids grow older. Thanks!
I no longer have young children at home, but I work from home and don’t have a lot of time to shop and stand in line. Where I shop, I like to shop Wednesday mornings when I can around 10. The store is relatively quiet but the produce department has had a chance to put out fresh products (0r is in the process of doing so). Also, there is usually a reasonable selection of marked-down produce that I can check through. The lines are shorter, so they aren’t as many people to get annoyed if I have more than a few coupons. An added bonus is that the next week’s flier is usually out so I can grab it on my way out of the store after checking out.
Either early (ish) morning or believe it or not after 4 is pretty dead. If I do go at that time, it’s usually just to get a few things though. I try very hard not to go on the weekends…murder!! For my weekly shopping it’s mostly on a Monday morning.
I usually prefer the self check outs as I can scan at my own pace and check every item and coupon as I put them through. So I usually shop after 9:30 am when they open and before 9 pm when they start closing down.
Night works best for me, an hour before closing. No one is shopping at 11 at night. The only problem is they close customer service a half hour before the store closes so I’ve missed out on rain checks at times.
I like to go at night after the kids are in bed, but sometimes products are out of stock, and if anything goes wrong customer service may not be open to fix it. I’m thinking any time I can do an early morning without kids would be ideal.
The store/location matters more to me than the time I go. My favorite locations are great at nearly any time I go but there are a few cashiers I try to avoid. When I have a question for customer service I usually prefer to go during the day time as I feel like those CS people are more customer service savvy and have more of a handle on what is going on. The one exception would be if I’m doing S&S and I don’t get there on Friday, I won’t go again until the following Wed so they will have re-stocked sale items by then…I’ve found that my location can be out of items quickly. I always use a cashier, never self-checkout. I’d rather have the interaction and sometimes I find an especially helpful cashier who shares info with me. I always bag my own; cashiers seem appreciative and I feel like I help them, they help me. Besides, it gets me out more quickly! Like most things, it’s really individual personal preference.
I have three kids and work full time so going in the morning is out of the question but I find going Wednesdays around 5pm is the best, hardly any people there, it’s the start of there 4day price break and when I’m done is usually when everyone is arriving..
I am a mom to three young kids too ages 5, 3 and 1, so I feel you food shopping pain. Really I do. I found for me, the best time to go is at night. Friday night woks out to be the best for me. I leave 2 of the kids asleep home with my husband, and will sometimes take the 5 year old with me… or not. I hate waiting all week long to hit up the deals at Shoprite, but it works. Sometimes I’ll pop in during the week just to buy Catalina deals so when I go for my real trip on Friday I am armed with plenty of “free” money
Good luck!
I shop Sunday morning first thing!!
I shop on weeknights after dinner, usually around 7:00 pm. Our ShopRite (in Ramsey, NJ) is a madhouse during the morning and afternoon, and it’s much quieter at night! Plus at night I can usually get my husband or one of my older kids to come with me and help.
We go first thing Sunday morning. My husband and the baby go with, and we hit Stop and Stop, Shop-rite and CVS around 9, home by 11 usually, and done for the week! I do the farmers market Monday since I have to drive to North Brunswick for that, and it’s a bit far.
I like to shop at night. Not only is it less crowded and I don;t worry about rushing because people are behind me.
Most places I go the workers tend to feel a little laid back. I also can take my time and look at things and not have anyone bug me. I also have to kids, sometimes we’ll go at 10pm and they will sleep in the car with my husband playing his video games in the car. OR He’ll stay at home if I got at like 1-2am. I will go alone.
I love going at night. I don’t like to draw a lot of attention, so this is best for me and I seem to get along with the night workers . LIKE I SAID… They are way more laid back!
I prep my shopping list on Sat night and head to SR first thing Sunday morning. Although nighttime shopping is more peaceful I prefer to get my pick of the stock. I like shopping from neat, full shelves, not to mention if there is a great Cataline deal if I wait in this area it is gone by Sunday afternoon (thinking about this week’s Solo Catalina deal). By the time I am done and ready to check out the parking lot is getting full so there are more cashiers which means I can choose who to go to (nothing worse than someone calling a mgr over for every single coupon).
I don’t like shopping at night. I find more things are out of stock at night. I prefer to shop during the day during the week (usually just before lunch time). I also have 2 kids with me. There’s also usually only 1 check stand open so people get more annoyed that I’m using coupons. And my SR is only open until 11.
I read someplace that the best time to grocery shop is Tuesday or Wed morning, they are restocked from the weekend and you don’t get the people who wait til the end of the week.
Have you tried Shoprites’s Shop at Home ? I love it. I pull up the Shoprite website and also Cindy’s website, and make my list that way. Yes, there is a $10 fee but often they have a $5 coupon in the circular toward the fee. And every 5th order is free. I find that I save a lot more each week by shopping from home. I do not buy impulse items for one thing. And I go thru Cindy’s deals, plus I check the price on certain coupon items I have, just in case they are on sale.
No one could have convinced me before but I really do love it. I save more and no more miserable cashiers or cranky shoppers to deal with. The folks who check you out at Shop at Home are always in a good mood! They take your coupons with no problem. If an item is out of stock, they put a raincheck with your groceries along with next week’s circular.
And the door for Shop at Home is off to the side (at my store anyway) so I don’t have to be in that overcrowded lot.
I WISH I could do shop-at-home! That isn’t an option in my area, unfortunately. I used to do Stop & Shop’s Peapod, but I was consistently disappointed in the produce and meat they picked out. Also I do really like to compare the labels – for me the shopping isn’t just about saving money with coupons but also getting the healthier option, sometimes you just have to be there to compare side by side. BUT if they had it at my store in East Windsor I would certainly try it out!
At night after my kids go to bed (anytime after 7 pm the stores are pretty empty), or Sunday morning before 10 am. The stores are very empty at both of these times.