What is the Best Day of the Week to Grocery Shop?

There is a secret to saving big when grocery shopping that few consumers know about, choosing the right day of the week to maximize grocery savings. I’m asked often what the best day of the week to grocery shop is, so often in fact that I am always surprised that so many people don’t know the correct answer. Anyone using supermarket coupons on a regular basis needs to know the answer to this question.

When I ask those who are doing the asking, what they think the best day of the week to grocery shop is they almost always either answer that “they don’t know” or that “it has to be the day the new ads come out.”

Are they right? What is your answer?

Get out the giant game show wrong answer sound effects buzzer if your answer was the same as theirs. If you answered that the day your local grocers beak new ads is best day of the week to shop you are incorrect. Technically the first day of a new ad flier is the worst day of the week to grocery shop with only a few exceptions.

Why? For a couple of sound reasons you may not have thought of.

First, if you think about it, the day the new ads break all have one thing in common. There will inevitably be giant, freshly built displays of the products featured both on sale and on loss-leader.

Why is this important? Well for one thing you will be sure to get the product that is advertised in the sales flier.

Ummm, what did you say? Why would you not want to buy the sale item? Well, what you really want is to buy the last sale item left on the shelf and then get at rain checks for multiple others if you are buying in bulk.

Stay with me here and follow my line of reasoning. Rain checks are good at the super low loss-leader sale price and protect you from price increases for 4 to 6 weeks in the future. If you use a coupon clipping service you can order more coupons and wait until they arrive and then use your rain checks, maximizing your savings.

With a rain check you also have the advantage of purchasing more products later when prices are higher, but still paying the lower price. If you change you mind you do not need to buy yet you still have the option. If you have one or two of the item left at home and might have made it to the next sale anyway, you may decide to wait it out until you run out. Not needing to buy exactly when the price is right saves you space in the pantry while still leaving your options open without the obligation to buy. If you don’t need to sink money into your food stores right now in order to save, why do it? You can still buy later if you need to when you run out.

Rain checks have another nifty benefit. They work really well on perishable items when you can only use a limited amount of product in a few days time without spoilage. I love it when I can find rain checks for deeply discounted fruit and vegetables. I get the benefit of a really good price without worrying about loosing money due to waste.

The best day of the week to scrounge for rain checks is on the last day of the sale, in busy high volume stores. High volume stores tend to run out of advertised items and you can usually find rain checks available unless the ad specifies “limited to quantities on hand.”

As big of a help to you grocery budget as the strategy of collecting rain checks can be, there is an even more important reason to shop on the last day of an ad cycle. You will already have the benefit of the next week’s sales flier having been delivered to your mail box.

With two weeks specials and money savings offers to work with, you will have a better idea on how to divvy up your grocery budget. If the sales are not worth bothering with this week you can wait to shop one extra day and allocate extra funds the next week’s ad. If the sales are better on the current week you can spend extra and skip the second week’s ad. You have more flexibility when you know how to plan.

So, when is it not a good idea to wait to shop until the last day of the ad? There are really only two good reasons. One, you have to shop when you can fit it into your schedule. Or, secondly, if you really need the loss-leader items and you want to be sure that they are still in stock when you shop. Otherwise, you can maximize savings by preplanning your purchases well and waiting until the last day of the ad.

What is the best day of the week to shop? The answer depends on the grocery chain you shop in. Ask any clerk or checker what day the new ad starts and they will happily supply this vital piece of information to you.