Costco Reveals Shopping Trick to Save 20% on Groceries

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I don’t know about you, but I’m frustrated by how expensive it’s gotten to buy groceries and household essentials. Just the other day, I walked to my local supermarket to pick up a few items. The tab? Almost $40 for a small bag of groceries I could carry home.

Because groceries and household products eat up such a large chunk of my budget, I’m constantly looking for ways to reduce my spending. Sometimes, that means seeking out digital coupons at my local grocery store, which I can download to my store card. It also means doing a lot of my shopping at Costco.

Since there are a bunch of people in my household, Costco’s bulk offerings are something I can take advantage of without having to worry about food waste. But there’s a trick I use to save money on my Costco shopping. And I highly recommend you use it, too.

Not being picky could save you a lot

When I first joined Costco, I was a bit wary of trying its signature Kirkland brand — namely because I’d never heard of it before and was worried about the quality. I’ve since changed my tune on Kirkland, and I can honestly say that loading up on Costco’s signature brand is a huge money-saver.

But there’s a reason for that. Costco specifically seeks to offer its Kirkland products at a lower price point than competing brands — including those it carries. And that allows customers to save big.

As one example, if you buy Kirkland paper towels, the price per 100 square feet is $2.24. Choose Bounty instead, and it’ll cost you $4.57 per 100 square feet — more than double. So if you’re someone who’s not so picky about the products you bring home, then choosing Kirkland over the brands you see advertised on TV could result in nice savings.

Costco’s pledge could benefit you

Choosing Kirkland products won’t always mean paying less than half of what a well-known brand will cost. But in general, you can expect to save at least 20% on a given item by purchasing the Kirkland version — or so says Costco’s CFO, Gary Millerchip.

During Costco’s most recent earnings call, he was quoted as saying, “We evaluate the potential for new high-quality Kirkland Signature items with a goal of providing at least 20% value versus what we would sell the national brand item as.”

This means that if you normally buy name-brand products at Costco and spend $100 a week, switching to Kirkland could put $20 a week back in your pocket or more. That’s a pretty good deal.

And if you’re wondering whether Kirkland products are as good as the brands you know, the honest answer is that it depends. In my experience, in some cases, Kirkland’s version is way better. Sometimes, it’s not. Most of the time, it’s at least the same, in which case I might as well pay less.

But either way, there’s really nothing to worry about. Costco’s generous return policy and commitment to customer satisfaction means you can take back almost any Kirkland item that doesn’t meet your expectations for a full refund. So if you buy Kirkland granola bars and your kids hate them, you can just return the box, get your money back, and chalk it up to a failed experiment.

Chances are, though, most of the Kirkland items you buy will be winners with few exceptions. That’s been my experience as someone who’s been buying Kirkland products for over a decade. So if you’re tired of spending an uncomfortably large portion of your paycheck on groceries and related essentials, it pays to give Kirkland products a go.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.