When are groceries the cheapest?

For all you hard-edge bargain hunters out there, when are groceries the cheapest?

I know some stores often have deals between Mon-Wed that vanish if you turn up later in the week (esp on fresh goods).

But I also have a suspicion that the "specials" they offer on the week that falls on govt pay week tend to be less of the core grocery items and more discretionary items like chips, gourmet whatsits, and softdrinks, etc. The off-pay week seems to be more of the basic grocery items that will lure the budget-minded people back into the store.

What do you think of this theory? When are groceries the cheapest?

PS - in SA so please exclude Aldi from this discussion.

Just subbing - good question!

It thought it was Fridays. Will see if I can find the article on it (will be just my luck it was something I watched)

If you're after cheap fruit and vege try your local markets on Sunday about an hour before close. if they don't open again until Friday and they aren't restaurant suppliers they want to offload as much as they can so they will cut prices.

Also, it's a where not a when but the stuff in the end of aisle displays tends to be the most marked down (that little space that you do the u-turn around).

Quick reading. Really it depends on what fruit & veg, dairy, meat etc, also where you are and time of day.

IGA does a 'market day special' on either a Friday or a Wednesday where they have a lot of fresh fruit and meat on special for that day only. I don't think nay of them are cheaper than the other - some will be cheaper on some items and others will be cheaper on other items. If you are prepared to do the run around, then you can go from on to the other and buy the specials that each one has, but when you factor in the time doing that, you probably only save a dollar or two anyway. But fr those with an instore bakery, sometimes at the end of the day is when it's cheapest to get baked bread etc.

I used to go grocery shopping on Wednesday nights at Coles for years. Their catalogue sales start on Thursdays, after 7.30pm-ish they are in the process of changing prices for the next catalogue so they give you the cheapest price between the current (ending) catalogue and the one starting on Thursday. Target used to do the same thing but I don't know whether they still do. Kmart don't.

If you're there in the evening you can often get some good specials as they go around marking down the meat just before it gets to the use by date.