Grocery shoppers could pay substantially different totals depending on which supermarket they choose, according to the V.I. Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs’ latest supermarket comparison, which found gaps of $70.42 between the lowest and highest surveyed baskets on St. Croix, $89.33 on St. Thomas and $51.60 on St. John.
The comparisons, conducted for the week of September 7, are based on identical products available at each store on a given island. That distinction is important because DLCA surveyed 89 items on St. Croix, 94 on St. Thomas and 51 on St. John. The agency said the number differs because only identical items can be used for a valid comparison, meaning the overall basket totals should not be used to directly compare the cost of groceries from one island to another.
On St. Croix, Pueblo at La Reine recorded the lowest total for the 89-item basket at $425.33, followed by Pueblo at Golden Rock at $439.21, Plaza Extra at $443.05, The Market at $460.01, and Stop and Shop Supermarket at $495.75. The $70.42 difference between the lowest and highest totals means the highest surveyed basket was about 16.6 percent above the lowest.
The St. Croix item-by-item data also show why consumers may benefit from comparing individual products rather than relying solely on the overall basket ranking. Stop and Shop, despite having the highest total basket, offered the lowest surveyed price for 32-ounce corn meal at $1.99 and the lowest price for five pounds of all-purpose flour at $6.79. The Market had the lowest five-pound white rice price at $4.49 and tied Stop and Shop for the lowest four-pound sugar price at $3.99.
On St. Thomas, Pueblo at Long Bay had the lowest 94-item basket at $481.22, followed by Pueblo at Subbase at $489.61 and The Market at $498.17. Food Center recorded the highest total at $570.55, producing an $89.33 spread between the lowest and highest baskets, or approximately 18.6 percent.
Food Center nevertheless had some of the lowest prices for individual products in the St. Thomas survey. A pound of ribeye steak was listed at $18.99 there, compared with $26.59 at Pueblo Long Bay, $27.99 at Pueblo Subbase and $32.99 at The Market. Food Center also listed a gallon of fresh 2 percent milk at $4.50, compared with $6.37 at The Market and $6.93 at both Pueblo locations.
On St. John, Pine Peace Mini Mart had the lowest 51-item basket at $244.74, followed by Starfish Market at $288.40 and St. John Market at $296.34. The $51.60 gap placed the highest basket about 21.1 percent above the lowest — the largest percentage spread among the three island-specific comparisons.
Here, too, the lowest overall basket did not mean Pine Peace had the lowest price on every product. Starfish Market listed chicken breast at $2.99 per pound, compared with $4.99 at Pine Peace and $16.45 at St. John Market. Starfish also had the lowest whole wheat bread price at $4.99, while Pine Peace offered lower prices on a number of canned and dried goods, including red kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans and garbanzo beans at $1.99 each.
DLCA also produced a separate matched-item table using products that were consistently available with valid pricing across the territory. That comparison provides a clearer look at island-to-island differences for specific identical products. Five pounds of white rice, for example, had a lowest surveyed price of $4.49 on St. Croix, $4.99 on St. Thomas and $7.95 on St. John. Sixteen ounces of olive oil was lowest at $7.99 on both St. Croix and St. Thomas, compared with $13.99 on St. John.
The matched data also show that St. John was not consistently more expensive. The lowest chicken breast price there was $2.99 per pound at Starfish, compared with $3.59 on both St. Croix and St. Thomas. Whole wheat bread was lowest at $4.99 on St. John, compared with $5.69 on the other two islands, while Pine Peace listed both red and green apples at $1 each, below the lowest prices recorded on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The survey illustrates substantial variation not only among islands but among stores operating on the same island, with the least expensive outlet for an entire basket sometimes charging more for individual products than competitors with higher overall totals. DLCA encouraged consumers to compare prices and “shop wisely” when making purchasing decisions.
