When shopping at the grocery store you may want to bring your calculator with you. While you may find per unit prices on many shelf items, you probably won’t find it shown on all products. Instead of just comparing the prices of one item to another, we suggest that you compare price per unit (e.g. price per ounce, etc) to ensure that you are getting the most for your money. We found that while some products are priced less to attract buyers, after a closer look at the per unit price, we learned that we would actually end up paying more if we were to buy the product with the lower shelf price.
If a per unit price is not listed on the shelf, use your calculator to determine the unit price. Simply take the shelf price of the item and divide it by the total number of units in the container. Then do the same for the item you are comparing the first product to and then simply compare the two unit prices.
The same technique can be used for paper towels, napkins and other items that are marked with a product count.
After you start pricing by unit, you might be surprised at what you find (especially if it those extra dollars in your pocket)
Second this. The weird thing about unit prices is that usually you think that bigger volume items have better unit prices, but that’s not always true. If you want a rule of thumb, then go for the bigger size (if you’re going to use it eventually anyway). However, if you want to really be sure, check your calculator. Case in point: shopping for taco sauce the other day and the determining factor wasn’t the size; it was the packaging. The glass bottles were cheaper unit prices than the plastic squeezable bottles. Another case in point: friend’s wife finds that at [a certain unnamed] drive-thru, buying two smaller orders of chicken nuggets is cheaper than one larger order, even though two smaller orders is more food. Go figure … and save!