NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — From couponing to shopping store sales, there are many tricks to saving money on groceries. But there's one tool available all the time to get the best value that's often overlooked: unit pricing.
Unit pricing isn't new, but many shoppers don't consider it while grocery shopping. Vantreisha Nyemba from Cleveland didn't know about it until recently.
"I haven't thought about unit prices, especially looking at. I never knew it was like actually listed here," Nyemba said.
You can find the unit price of an item on the price tag. It's typically located in a colored box or in smaller print at the bottom.
Unit pricing calculates the cost per unit of an item — like ounces or pounds — rather than the total cost. Brian Vines with Consumer Reports told Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank that unit pricing helps determine whether buying larger or smaller, generic or name brand, is cheaper.
"You might see circulars blaring two for five, buy one, get one free, all of those things that purport to be deals. But if you look at the sticker with the unit price, you get the real nitty gritty of whether something is a value or not," Vines said.
For example, at Giant Eagle, an 8-ounce bag of store-brand shredded cheese is 31 cents an ounce compared to 50 cents an ounce for name-brand. An 11-ounce bag of Giant Eagle granola is 36 cents an ounce, while name brands are 41 to 50 cents an ounce.
At Meijer, a standard-size box of store-brand toasted oat cereal is 17 cents an ounce. The name-brand is 31 cents an ounce. A 32-ounce tub of Meijer Greek yogurt is 12 cents an ounce compared to 20 cents an ounce for a name-brand.
In Ohio, there is no universal law requiring retailers to display unit pricing, so there may be a store where it's not displayed. If that's the case, there are online unit price calculators you can use to make sure you're getting the best deal.
Or if you're good with numbers, you can do the math in your head.
"Unit pricing is just the price of an item divided by its value, its weight, its ounces," Vines said.
By taking a closer look at the price tag, you can stretch your grocery budget further. Nyemba said she'll be looking at unit pricing the next time she's at the grocery store and plans to tell her kids about it, too.
Keep in mind that a higher unit price for a smaller size might save you money if it's something you don't eat as often and will end up throwing away.
