When looking at where to buy groceries, you have a lot of choices. If you’ve narrowed it down to Tom Thumb and Kroger, you should compare the two in detail.
Then, you can figure out if one store will meet your needs better. Or you may decide to combine both stores and buy certain items at each place.
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How Do Tom Thumb and Kroger Compare?
Tom Thumb is a chain that you’ll find around Dallas and Fort Worth. However, Kroger operates in more cities and states and offers lower prices and a larger product variety. But Tom Thumb has had fewer product recalls and issues.
Both stores may be right for different people. Only you can decide if one store is better than the other for you.
Store Brand Pricing
Whether you buy groceries for yourself or your whole family, you probably want to know which store costs less. When it comes to their respective store brands, Kroger tends to be cheaper. This applies to categories like beverages, canned goods, dry goods, and frozen foods.
Tom Thumb only offers lower prices when it comes to baking goods. Both stores charge about the same for personal care items.
Kroger prices can be as much as 40% cheaper than the equivalent Tom Thumb items. Of course, that doesn’t account for sales that each store may run. And it only covers store brand products, not name-brand items.
Number of Products
If you want to do all of your grocery shopping in one place, you should choose a store with plenty of products. At Tom Thumb, you can choose from 20,000 different items, which is pretty good.
However, that pales in comparison to Kroger which offers 70,000 items. At both stores, you can find food as well as other similar products that you’d find in any grocery store.
Now, the exact varieties may be different. Even though Tom Thumb carries fewer items, they may have more of the brands and sizes that you want. So don’t just pay attention to the number of items a store sells.
Product Recalls
Along with the number of products, consider the number of recalls at each store. If a place has to recall a lot of products, that means you could waste your money. Now, both stores have had some recalls in the past.
Tom Thumb has had to recall three food and beverage items. Kroger has had to recall 51 items total, 46 of which are foods and beverages. The remainder fall into the animal and vet, cosmetics, and drugs categories.
While Kroger has recalled more, its ratio of recalls to total products is 0.07%. Tom Thumb’s recall rate is still lower at 0.015%. The smaller store wins when it comes to recalls, but there are still other categories to keep in mind.
Locations
You can choose from 65 Tom Thumb locations in Texas. Dallas is home to 19 of those stores, and the rest are all in cities in the Dallas metro area. That can make it a fantastic choice if you live in north central Texas or tend to visit frequently.
However, Kroger has over 1,300 locations across the US. Some of those locations are in Texas, and there are more in states from Arizona to Michigan to Florida.
If you live around Dallas or Fort Worth, you may have easy access to both stores. But many people may only get to go to one or the other.
Rewards Program
Like many grocery stores, Tom Thumb has a rewards program. When you join, you’ll get a free treat each year around your birthday.
You’ll also get custom deals based on the items you tend to buy and a free monthly gift. As you earn points, you’ll be able to redeem them on gas and groceries.
Kroger also has a rewards program, including community rewards and a fuel program. The community program helps you give back with your purchases.
Meanwhile, the fuel program helps you save money on gas. You can even get a Kroger Mastercard to get cashback, even when you shop at other stores.
Working There
Maybe you need a job, or you want to support a store that supports its workers. Either way, you should consider what employees have to say about Tom Thumb and Kroger.
Tom Thumb workers rate their CEO and overall culture higher than Kroger employees. However, Kroger wins when it comes to professional development, diversity, and perks and benefits.
But Tom Thumb tends to pay its employees better in positions such as clerk, deli, and retail. The pay difference is small, but it adds up after weeks and months of work.
Shopping at Both Tom Thumb and Kroger
If you live near both stores, nothing’s stopping you from shopping at Tom Thumb and Kroger. But you may want to get most stuff from Kroger.
Save Tom Thumb for when you want to bake something since their prices are lower in that department. You can also join both rewards programs to save even more. And you could use your Kroger card when you pay for something at Tom Thumb.
Is Tom Thumb Better Than Kroger?
Tom Thumb has had fewer product recalls and offers better pay for employees. It’s also cheaper when it comes to baking supplies. However, Kroger is cheaper in most other areas, and it has more locations and a larger variety of products for you to choose from.