Convenience Stores Offer Great Deals to Savvy Shoppers

This would not be a big deal if it were just you, but what if you have kids who will need milk for their breakfast cereal and a spouse who just HAS to have milk for coffee. Hmm, maybe just give the kids Pop Tarts and Kool-Aid and let the coffee fiend drink it black! No, you're a better person than that. Bite the bullet, throw on some sweat pants and go get some milk!

Another dilemma arises. Your nearest grocery store closed five minutes ago and the nearest twenty-four hour megamart is 8 miles away. Then you remember the convenience store on the corner. It's so close; you could walk there if it weren't so late. But getting mugged on the way there isn't the only thing you're afraid of - price and quality are pretty scary thoughts, too. Will the milk be fresh? Will you have to cash in your 401k to pay for it? Actually, you might be pleasantly surprised!

Convenience stores have long had a reputation for carrying inferior products at exorbitant prices, but this is not always the case. Many stores have made significant changes in recent years with cleaner stores, higher-quality products and lower prices. Convenience stores now offer many name-brand products at competitive prices and sometimes even offer sales on popular products like soft drinks. Because of competition from twenty-four hour chain stores like Wal-Mart and many supermarket chains (many of which also sell gasoline, too) convenience store chains are aware of the growing demand for people on-the-go wanting food and household products available at all hours and at competitive prices.

Because of their short shelf-life, perishable staples like milk, eggs and bread are often as cheap in convenience stores as they are in supermarkets and sometimes cheaper! Because of the popularity of pay-at-the-pump, convenience stores are desperate to lure gasoline customers into the store to buy groceries in hopes that they may also make impulse purchases of snacks, beverages or tobacco products. If you are strong willed and can steer clear of the impulse items, you may actually find it easier to breeze in and out of a convenience store with only what you need, whereas, in a regular supermarket you may be tempted to buy more items because of product availability and product placement. Most convenience stores do not have shopping carts or even baskets, so you will not be tempted to buy more than you can carry in your arms.

If you need to buy medicine, again, a convenience store may be a good choice for you. Usually, these items will have a much higher per-unit cost than what is available in supermarkets and discount stores. However, if you need just one dose of Ibuprofen to tie you over until morning, convenience stores often sell single-dose or other small packages of medicine that you cannot find in larger stores. If you don't get sick very often and you find yourself frequently throwing away partially-used packages of expired medicine, buying smaller packages may actually save you money in the long run.

Bulk packages of soft drinks are another item that are often competitively priced at many convenience stores. While you may pay a lot for a single-serve can or bottle of soda, that very same brand of beverage will cost about the same as what the supermarkets charge if you buy a "fridge pack".

However, buying all of your groceries in a convenience store is probably not possible or practical. For one, most convenience stores do not stock fresh produce, although you may be able to find fresh fruit sold individually in some stores. But if you just need a few things, you are in a hurry, and your regular grocery store is further away than your corner convenience store, consider stopping in. You may end up saving more than just a few minutes of your precious time!