Read The News & Observer for tips and advice to make the best choices while shopping for groceries — and more — at traditional grocers and wholesale clubs in North Carolina.
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Last week, The News & Observer released its 2026 grocery store price check, stacking up 12 of the Raleigh area’s most popular grocery stores to determine which ones offer the best value for shoppers in an ever-increasingly unaffordable environment.
Service journalism reporter Autumn Coleman spent days in grocery stores this September, snapping photos of regular prices for 30 common items across each store, splitting the list between store and name-brand offerings. Some stores, like cult favorite Trader Joe’s, only offer their version of a product, so she substituted in items as needed. She also chatted with shoppers at each store, asking what influences their routines.
Database editor David Raynor presented all the prices in an easy-to-use interactive database, showing how your family’s staples compare across stores. (I couldn’t believe one single avocado could range from about 60 cents to nearly $2. Guess which store offers each price, now see if you got it right— I didn’t.) David’s been helping our team show grocery prices for years, and one of his charts show how costs have changed over time. It’s eye-opening.
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Take a look at our package, and use it to influence your household’s shopping habits.
Editing this package showed me how I can change my family’s weekend shopping trips to stretch our dollars further. I hope this information helps you in the same way.
The News & Observer’s Autumn Coleman and David Raynor contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 6:30 AM.