(Updated June, 2016)
News Flash! In April 2014, a survey of Consumer Reports readers ranked Shaw's 54th out of 55 supermarkets. (That's BAD!) The rankings also named Shaw's as one of the 5 most expensive supermarkets in the country.
This is a good supermarket in the sense that it is attractive, clean and well-stocked. However, the prices are definitely high. During the nine years that I've been going there, they have raised their prices frequently, even during the economic downturn, and definitely faster than the rate of inflation. They do put SOME popular items on sale frequently, which is apparently part of their strategy; but the vast majority of high-priced items never go on sale.
An example of their high prices is Campbell's condensed soups. In 2007, Shaw's charged $1.88 per can for most flavors -- that was at a time when the soups could be purchased for $1.09 to $1.49 at most other markets. Today, in 2016, Shaw's is charging $1.99 or $2.19 (the price changes from time to time), while other markets still charge as little as $1.39 for some flavors. Why Shaw's is price-gouging on a common convenience food, I don't know.
Their frozen convenience foods are especially expensive, even more expensive than Tom's Market (a little gourmet market in Warren). For example, Tom's charges $2.89 to $2.99 for Stouffer's single-serving entrees (depending on whether or not they have meat). Shaw's charges $3.99 for all entrees. Similarly, Tom's price for Smucker's preseves (in 2014) was $3.19; Shaw's price was $3.99. Tom's price for Hood half & half (in 2015) was $3.19; Shaw's price was $3.79. Shaw's sells Breyer's gelato for about 80 cents more than Tom's. Those are big differences.
In mid-2013 I went to Tom's Market to buy the ingredients for a favorite dish that I make. The next time I made the dish, I went to Shaw's to save some money, and I paid more.
It's true that Shaw's puts their foods on sale frequently (only very popular items), but they do it in a sneaky way. Let's say that an item costs $5.99, but a reasonable price for that item would be $4.99. They'll put it on sale for $3.99 for one week, and then raise it to $4.99 the next week -- they are hoping that you won't notice that the sale price went up from one week to the next.
One more thing about prices: As a promotional gimmick, Shaw's puts stickers all over the store that say "LOW PRICES EVERY DAY". The maddening thing is that they put those stickers on the MOST OVER-PRICED ITEMS! It's a kind of psychological warfare: They are trying to fool their customers into believing that they are getting value when they aren't.
Shaw's deli counter has a reasonable selection of stuff. In the past, they always had a couple meats on sale, but that area of the display now has expensive gourmet meats in it.
Shaw's sells fresh pizza which is actually quite good, and not overly expensive.
The bakery department is a study in contrasts. Their refrigerated desserts are some of the worst I have ever tasted. I bought a single serving of strawberry shortcake once. It was made from a dry, rock-hard biscuit, some strawberry jam, and some artificial whipped topping. On the other hand, their bakery breads and muffins are pretty good.
Be careful when buying ice cream: About 20% of the ice cream has been partially thawed and then refrozen. They are not as careful with frozen foods as they should be.
Don't ask Shaw's to stock a special item for you. The manager will request it, but it will never appear on the shelves, even if they carry other items from the same brand.
Shaw's is very wasteful of energy. The store is so well lighted that you would think you were on a stage. Their air-conditioning system sometimes has a condensation problem, so in the summer they HEAT the store at the same time that they air-condition it. However, in 2012 they put doors on the upright refrigerator units, which was good.
Shaw's had self-checkout aisles which they removed in 2015 because people were stealing, so now all customers must check out with a regular cashier. As a result, getting out of the store now takes MUCH longer (and I go there less frequently). When they made the change, they apparently didn't put more cashiers on duty; they just allowed the lines to become longer.
In December 2012, I dropped my rating from 3 stars to 2 because of the prices. Around that time I saw a flurry of price increases on already-expensive items, and I finally got angry. Stop & Shop (in Bristol) used to be much cheaper than Shaw's, but they renovated and increased their prices. Even so, you can expect to save 3% to 5% at Stop & Shop, and their selection is bigger. read more