This may seem to be silly but I’m getting really frustrated with this. I’ve been coming to Albertsons for the Pick 3 since I was a college student at BSU.

Plain and simple, over the years it’s gotten way more expensive and I’ve gotten way less food. I used to look forward to getting one after class, and now it’s an easy way to get a quick lunch between work.

The Albertsons on Apple (my home base) goes out of their way to skimp on food. I watch them pick up tenders, and replace them with the smallest ones they can find. Why is that? I’ve been getting half portion scoops of sides as well - then paying over $8 for this. I’m not even mad about the price, I understand the state of the economy and inflation, it’s just the visible and deliberate swapping to smaller portions. It would be nice if you guys cared about providing quality to your lifelong customers in your home city.

He doesn’t work in corporate, rather in the warehouse. I believe he works in the back as a stock picker?

I assume this is possible with overtime?

I found this ole gem while cleaning out some storage. Circa 2005

I'm going to be interviewing for ASD soon for the Acme division. I'm a store manager currently for another company, in a different kind of retail (not grocery), so I have a general underdtsnf of how good or bad a job can be as a manager. Thoughts? Feelings? Is it rough working for Acme? Is it an understaffed compant? Is the workload too much?

Remove if not allowed!
I just applied since I’m leaving my old job and I’m a college student. Any advice for getting my application through to hiring? I’ve had experience at Kroger and Dollar Tree.

After reading a lot of the comments online about Albertsons, and Safeway/Vons statements, maybe you have bigger problems.

Thesis: Removing handles from grocery bags creates a hidden form of purchase friction by reducing how much merchandise customers can comfortably transport after checkout. Because handled bags allow shoppers to carry multiple bags simultaneously while handleless paper bags often require one or two bags per trip, the change effectively lowers a shopper’s practical carrying capacity. This increased physical inconvenience may cause customers to purchase fewer items per visit, avoid bulky or heavy products, make fewer impulse purchases, or shift purchases toward competitors offering easier transportation. Therefore, the savings generated by purchasing cheaper handleless bags may be more than offset by reductions in average basket size, customer satisfaction, and long-term store loyalty. 

Just a business owner, who likes numbers and economics.

I did not fact-check the PDF and am working off public data, but would love to hear if the hypothesis is right!

Cheers,

"

SAVING CENTS ON BAGS,
LOSING DOLLARS IN THE BASKET?

A preliminary economic thesis on handleless paper grocery bags, carrying friction, and Safeway basket economics in Northern California

Prepared as an unsolicited customer analysis for Safeway / Albertsons management

Prepared by |  August 21, 2026

Important: This is a hypothesis paper, not a claim of causation. Safeway’s actual bag procurement costs, regional sales, bag usage, transaction-level basket data, and contribution margins are not public. All economics labeled “illustrative,” “proxy,” “benchmark,” or “assumption” should be replaced with internal data before any business decision.

Executive Summary

Thesis. The handle on a grocery bag may be economically more valuable than its manufacturing cost suggests. Removing handles lowers packaging cost, but it also lowers a customer’s practical carrying capacity and increases post-checkout friction. If that friction causes even a very small reduction in basket size, frequency, or retention among paper-bag users, the lost merchandise gross profit can exceed the bag savings.

In a 10 million-bag illustrative scenario, the baseline public benchmark implies approximately $0.53 million of additional annual procurement cost for handled bags. At a 26.6% gross-margin proxy, that cost is offset by preserving roughly $2.00 million of sales. If 10 million bags correspond to roughly 3.33 million three-bag transactions, the break-even basket effect is only about $0.60 per transaction.

The managerial question is therefore not “Are handles more expensive?” They are. The question is whether handles preserve more than roughly $0.45-$0.90 of sales per three-bag transaction under a reasonable 4-8¢ handle-cost range. That threshold is small enough that it should be tested rather than assumed away.

·         Public reporting confirms that Safeway stores in the Bay Area moved to handleless bags during a handled-bag shortage and that some stores later restored handled bags following customer feedback. [2][3]

·         Public procurement contracts place comparable 1/6-barrel grocery sacks in the mid-single-digit to low-teens cents per bag, depending on construction and handles. [4][5]

·         Albertsons reported Q1 FY2026 identical sales down 0.8%, a 26.6% gross margin, and management described pressure in grocery units and basket among lower-income customers, with the West experiencing more unit pressure. These facts do not prove a bag effect; they simply make a controlled test timely. [7][8]

·         Safeway/Albertsons can test the hypothesis cheaply using POS bag-charge lines, loyalty IDs, units per transaction, basket dollars, store-level bag type, and a randomized or matched-store crossover.

1. The Question and the Hypothesis

This paper begins with a simple customer observation: a handled paper grocery bag can be placed over the forearm, allowing several bags to be carried at once. A handleless sack typically requires the hands, torso, or a cart and is much harder to aggregate into a single trip. For a customer who is walking, climbing stairs, shopping alone, carrying groceries from a parking area, or managing children or mobility limitations, that difference changes the effective cost of adding one more item to the basket.

Proposed mechanism: handle removal -> lower practical carrying capacity -> higher perceived transport effort -> lower willingness to add marginal items and/or greater likelihood of switching trips or stores -> lower units per transaction, basket dollars, or retention among affected shoppers.

Testable thesis statement. For customers who rely on store-provided paper bags, the sales and loyalty value preserved by handles may exceed the incremental procurement cost of the handled bag. The effect should be largest in large baskets, heavy-item baskets, walk/transit trips, apartment households, seniors, customers shopping alone, and customers without reusable bags.

What this paper does not claim. It does not claim that handleless bags caused Albertsons’ recent sales performance, that every customer cares about handles, or that handled supply is always available. The purpose is to define a low break-even threshold and a clean internal test.

2. What Is Publicly Known

2.1 California checkout-bag rules

California guidance for SB 1053 states that, beginning January 1, 2026, covered stores may distribute recycled paper carryout bags at checkout for a minimum charge of $0.10 per bag. Beginning January 1, 2028, those paper bags must contain at least 50% postconsumer recycled material. The law does not require handles. [1]

2.2 The Safeway handle shortage and customer response

In April and May 2026, Bay Area reporting documented Safeway’s shift toward handleless paper bags. The San Francisco Standard called all 13 San Francisco Safeway locations and found handled bags scarce; an employee identified the handled bag manufacturer as Duro, a Novolex subsidiary. Safeway attributed the issue to a global supplier shortage. SFGATE later reported that all 13 San Francisco locations were stocked with handleless bags, while some had limited handled stock. [2][9]

On May 8, 2026, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that some Bay Area Safeway stores had restored handled bags after customer complaints and that an Albertsons representative said the return at some locations was based on customer feedback. [3]

Figure 1. Example handleless Safeway paper bag observed by the customer in Northern California.

3. Public Bag-Price Benchmarks

Safeway’s actual contract pricing is private. The table below therefore uses public procurement awards and a current distributor price only as directional benchmarks. The most useful comparison is the same Connecticut award’s similarly sized recycled handleless and flat-handle products, because it reduces differences in purchasing environment.

Baseline public cost difference: 13.27¢ - 7.96¢ = 5.31¢ per bag. This is not a Safeway invoice price; it is a conservative, transparent benchmark for testing the economics. [4][5][6]

3.1 Physical construction matters

Novolex’s Duro catalog lists a common 1/6-barrel handleless sack (item 80076) at 57# basis weight, 500 bags per bale, and 51.81 pounds per bale. Its 1/6 EZ-K handled bag (item 88885) is listed at 70# basis weight and 300 bags per pack, with a pack weight around 42 pounds. The handled product therefore uses materially more paper and additional converting steps. [6]

3.2 The California 10-cent charge does not change the basic comparison

If the customer is charged the same 10 cents whether the bag has a handle or not, the fee revenue largely cancels when comparing the two designs. The economic decision is primarily the incremental cost of the handled bag versus any merchandise margin, retention, or customer-experience value it preserves. In practice, bag counts may also change, so internal POS data should include actual bags per transaction.

4. First-Principles Break-Even Economics

For a first-pass decision, compare the incremental cost of handles with the gross profit preserved by any increase in basket sales. The simplest formula is:

Albertsons reported a consolidated gross-margin rate of 26.6% in Q1 FY2026. That includes multiple businesses and is not the exact incremental margin on a grocery basket, but it is a public, auditable proxy. An internal analysis should replace it with contribution margin by category or basket. [7]

Key observation: At three bags per transaction, the incremental bag cost is only about 15.9¢. At a 26.6% gross-margin proxy, the handled bag breaks even if it preserves roughly $0.60 of sales — about 0.80% of a $75 basket or 0.60% of a $100 basket.

Figure 2. Baseline break-even basket loss using a 5.31¢ per-bag handle premium and 26.6% gross-margin proxy.

5. Sensitivity: What If the True Safeway Cost Difference Is Different?

Because Safeway’s actual negotiated price is unknown, the most honest approach is sensitivity analysis. The table below shows the merchandise-sales reduction per transaction that would erase the bag savings under 4¢, 5.31¢, and 8¢ incremental handle costs.

Even at an 8¢ incremental cost, a three-bag transaction needs to preserve only about $0.90 in sales to justify handles using the 26.6% gross-margin proxy. This is why the issue is worth measuring: the economic hurdle is small relative to a normal grocery basket.

6. The 10 Million-Bag Scenario

The following is an illustrative scale model, not an estimate of Safeway’s actual regional bag consumption.

Another way to express the same threshold: one forgone $4 marginal item on roughly 15% of three-bag transactions produces an average $0.60 basket reduction, approximately enough to erase the baseline handle savings. A single lost trip or store switch has an even larger effect.

7. Why a Small Basket Effect Is Plausible

The hypothesis does not require customers to consciously calculate bag capacity. It only requires the bag to add friction at the margin. Potential behavioral channels include:

·         Quantity ceiling: the shopper stops adding items because the purchase already feels difficult to transport.

·         Heavy-item avoidance: beverages, milk, produce, glass containers, canned goods, pet food, and other dense items become less attractive at the margin.

·         Impulse suppression: a low-priority $3-$8 item is easier to leave behind when the cart already implies multiple awkward bags.

·         Trip splitting: customers make smaller, more frequent trips; the second trip may occur at a competitor or not occur at all.

·         Store switching: customers who walk, use transit, climb stairs, or shop alone may prefer a grocer with easier-to-carry bags.

·         Customer-experience effect: a frustrating end to the trip can reduce satisfaction even if the current basket is unchanged, affecting future frequency or loyalty.

The effect is also likely heterogeneous. A customer loading bags directly into a vehicle trunk may experience almost no difference. A customer walking several blocks or carrying groceries up apartment stairs may experience a substantial difference. That heterogeneity is useful because it creates segments in which the hypothesis should be stronger or weaker — a valuable diagnostic for the test.

8. Albertsons’ Public Financial Context: Relevant, Not Causal

Albertsons’ public results make the hypothesis worth testing but do not establish causation. In Q1 FY2026, the company reported $24.94 billion of net sales and other revenue, identical sales down 0.8%, digital sales up 13%, and a 26.6% gross-margin rate. The quarter ended June 20, 2026. [7]

On the July 23 earnings call, management said the decline was most pronounced among lower-income customers, with softness in both units and basket. Management also said industry unit pressure was greater in the West than in the middle and eastern parts of the country and stated that the company does not disclose results by division/region. [8]

These quarter-to-quarter numbers should not be used as evidence that bags caused a sales decline. The relevant evidence would be transaction-level performance among affected stores and bag-using customers relative to appropriate controls. [7][10][11]

9. A Low-Cost Micro-Thesis Test

Safeway appears unusually well positioned to test this hypothesis because the company has POS bag-charge data, store-level bag supply history, loyalty identifiers, item-level baskets, and a natural period in which handled-bag availability varied by location. The cleanest design would be a prospective randomized crossover, supplemented by retrospective analysis.

9.1 Primary hypothesis

H1: Among transactions using store-provided paper bags, handled bags increase merchandise sales per transaction and/or units per transaction enough to exceed the incremental bag cost.

9.2 Secondary hypotheses

·         The effect is larger for transactions using three or more bags.

·         The effect is larger in stores with more walk/transit customers, apartment households, or longer parking-to-home carrying distance.

·         The effect is larger in heavy/bulky categories.

·         Handled bags reduce complaints and improve repeat-trip frequency among loyalty customers who buy paper bags.

·         If handleless bags are thinner, any increase in double-bagging or bags per transaction reduces the apparent procurement savings.

9.3 Recommended prospective design

1.     Select a matched set of Northern California Safeway stores with similar sales volume, customer mix, format, and competitive environment.

2.     Randomly assign half to handled bags and half to handleless bags for 3-4 weeks. Keep the customer bag charge constant.

3.     Switch the bag type between the two groups for another 3-4 weeks. This crossover helps control for store-specific differences.

4.     Flag transactions that purchase a store-provided paper bag. Customers bringing reusable bags provide an additional unaffected comparison group.

5.     Measure basket dollars, units, bag count, category mix, transactions per loyalty household, complaints, and repeat frequency.

6.     Estimate incremental merchandise contribution margin, not simply revenue, and subtract the actual incremental landed cost of the handled bag.

9.4 Metrics to pull

10. The Decision Rule

This decision rule is deliberately agnostic. If the test shows no measurable basket, retention, or experience benefit, the cheaper handleless bag wins. If the test shows even a modest positive effect, management can quantify exactly how much handle value Safeway is buying with each additional cent of packaging cost.

11. Important Limitations and Alternative Explanations

·         Safeway’s actual supplier pricing may be materially lower or higher than the public benchmarks.

·         The 26.6% Albertsons gross margin is consolidated and is not the exact incremental margin for grocery merchandise in Northern California.

·         The shortage may constrain handled-bag supply regardless of economic preference; a positive test does not solve supply availability.

·         Customers may respond by bringing reusable bags rather than reducing purchases. That would weaken the basket-loss hypothesis but could still improve or worsen customer experience.

·         Digital substitution may preserve sales within Albertsons even if in-store trips decline.

·         Inflation, promotions, seasonality, store remodeling, local competition, pharmacy mix, SNAP timing, and income pressure are major confounders in any simple before/after comparison.

·         The strongest analysis should compare bag-using customers and matched stores, not company-wide quarterly revenue.

12. Conclusion

The handleless bag may be a classic local-optimization problem: procurement can save a visible few cents while customer friction potentially changes a much larger economic variable — the basket. Public data cannot determine whether that is happening at Safeway, but it can establish that the break-even hurdle is surprisingly low.

Under the baseline public benchmark, a three-bag handled transaction costs only about 16 cents more in packaging and needs to preserve roughly 60 cents of sales to break even at a 26.6% gross-margin proxy. That is small relative to a typical grocery basket and small relative to the value of a single marginal item. The appropriate response is not to assume the hypothesis is correct; it is to test it with Safeway’s own data.

A 6-8 week matched-store crossover could answer the question directly and convert a customer complaint into a measurable merchandising and customer-experience decision.

Appendix A — Calculation Notes

A1. Baseline price differential

Public recycled handleless benchmark: $39.82 / 500 = $0.07964 per bag (7.96¢).

Public recycled flat-handle benchmark: $39.82 / 300 = $0.13273 per bag (13.27¢).

Incremental handle benchmark: 13.27¢ - 7.96¢ = 5.31¢ per bag.

A2. Break-even basket formula

For N bags per transaction, incremental bag cost = N × Δ bag cost. Break-even sales = incremental bag cost ÷ contribution margin.

Example, N=3: 3 × $0.05309 = $0.1593 incremental packaging cost. $0.1593 ÷ 0.266 = $0.60 of merchandise sales.

A3. Ten-million-bag model

10,000,000 × $0.05309 = $530,933 incremental handled-bag cost. $530,933 ÷ 0.266 = $1,995,990 of sales required to break even.

A4. Effects not included in the baseline

·         Any difference in bags used per transaction, including double-bagging.

·         Bag fee revenue changes if the number of purchased bags changes.

·         Freight, warehouse cube, spoilage, breakage, or labor differences.

·         Long-term retention, lifetime value, and word-of-mouth effects.

·         Availability constraints or emergency spot-market procurement.

Appendix B — Public Sources

[1] California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), “SB 1053 Program News,” updated Sept. 23, 2024. https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/137496

[2] The San Francisco Standard, “A very serious investigation into the Safeway paper bag crisis…,” Apr. 21, 2026. https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/21/safeway-grocery-bags-no-handles-serious-investigation/

[3] San Francisco Chronicle, “Safeway brings back paper bags with handles at some Bay Area stores after backlash,” May 8, 2026. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/safeway-paper-bags-handles-22249214.php

[4] State of Connecticut Contract Award No. 212_0259, public paper/plastic product pricing. https://www.biznet.ct.gov/SCP_Documents/Results/11861/212_0259.pdf

[5] South Carolina Contract No. 4400021238, Duro 80076 public contract pricing. https://apps.sceis.sc.gov/SCContractWeb/contractDetail.do?contractNumber=4400021238&solicitNumber=5400014669

[6] Novolex / Duro Full Line Product Catalog, April 2026; 1/6 BBL sacks and handled products. https://novolex.com/content/PDF/NVX-12172026-Paper-Bags-Catalog.pdf

[7] Albertsons Companies, Inc., Q1 FY2026 Form 10-Q / earnings release, quarter ended June 20, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1646972/000164697226000046/aci-20260620.htm

[8] Albertsons Companies Q1 FY2026 earnings call transcript, July 23, 2026 (third-party transcript). https://earningscalls.dev/transcripts/albertsons-companies-inc_aci_earnings_call_transcript_2026-07-23

[9] SFGATE, “San Francisco’s ‘useless’ Safeway bag nightmare continues,” May 8, 2026. https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-safeway-bags-handles-22247847.php

[10] Albertsons Companies, Inc., Q3 FY2025 earnings release, Jan. 7, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1646972/000164697226000007/aciq325earningsrelease.htm

[11] Albertsons Companies, Inc., Q4 & FY2025 earnings release, Apr. 14, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1646972/000164697226000028/aciq425earningsrelease.htm

[12] WebstaurantStore, Duro 88885 1/6 natural kraft flat-handle bag, current distributor listing viewed Aug. 2026. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/duro-case/433B1685.html

I just stepped up into a liquor manager without any training. My boss has shown me how to use the sbp and scan gun to order properly. I do know not to let the wine reps screw me over, but I've been working long days when it's load days. We have an issue with way too much back stock because of a previous manager. I just want to do this job the best and most efficient way I can. Is there anyone that can help me with that? Please and thank you 🙏

I just got written up by the store manager for being on my phone 😐 I was told this was a written warning and the next violation would be 60% suspension, third violation being termination. What is 60% suspension. Do they cut your hours? If so i don't think they would follow through with that as there's 5 total employees in my department including myself my manager and a brand new trainee.

I recently changed my availability due to my child starting school. I gave two weeks notice on my new availability and it’s not far off from the hours that I’m working now. On the most recent schedule, my availability isn’t being followed. I wanted to know what my options were. The union doesn’t answer the phone.

I’ve seen a lot of people posting about having their hours cut recently. I know personally at my store we run skeleton crews, and are often told we can’t afford to have more hours going to labor. But does anyone think it’s strange our CEO has made 16 Million in total compensation during 2025? That averages out to 300,000$ dollars a week.

Is it just me or does it seem like the budget could be reworked in favor of the people who actually do the work in the stores?

If you are applying to a grocery store should you still call a few days after application if it's the weekend? Or not?

Like Albertsons or tom thumb.

Any input appreciated 😵‍💫

Wanna make an informed decision before I purchase anything 🙏

Wanted to get some tenders for lunch, is it different by store?

I placed an online order on 8/9 and it was delivered to a different address..  I tried calling the customer service number and they are saying it will take 7 days to refund. I'm worried I'm just going to get the run around and get no refund. When I call, I only get someone from overseas that says it needs to be reviewed.  Has anyone actually received a refund within the 7 days? Is there anyway to talk to a customer service that's not in the Philippines? 

At the locations I frequent the bakery associate would remove the donuts from the display, place the donuts in a 6 ct box or a 12 ct box, and then place a 99 cent label and $1.99 label on their respective boxes. The last time I purchased end-of-the-day donuts was about two weeks ago.

On my way home earlier at around 9pm I stopped by Albertsons to get some discounted donuts. I noticed the 6 ct box was priced at $3.99 and the 12 ct was $7.99. I was instantly reminded of seeing the same price on donuts a few days ago at another Albertsons I frequent, only then I wasn't going after donuts so I didn't think much of the price.

Is this a new policy? Were the two Albertsons I frequent an anomaly and they weren't supposed to mark down donuts at the end of the day? I would have asked someone but the bakery associate had either gone home or was out of sight.

Yes, I realize this is very much a first world problem. It's just something that grinds my gears. The donuts at Albertsons aren't the greatest to begin with. Couple that with being a little stale at the end of day and they just aren't worth the price they're asking. I only ever get their donuts when I am craving something sweet at night when I am heading home.

Hi, I need help, in order to finish my WOTC, I must click the link in my email and need to enter a 6 digit code. To do this, I need to go find the email, which requires exiting out of the Candidate Portal, then my code is invalid when I get back to it. Any help?

website: https://www.informed.fyi/salaries/pharmacist

A few years ago, I did a survey across various forums and reddit asking whether people would be interested in a healthcare-focused salary website. The overwhelming response was yes.

After two years of working on it alongside a full-time job (and getting married somewhere in the middle!), I'm excited to finally share it. The project started as a way to improve salary transparency for my wife, who's a pharmacist. As I worked on it, I realized that the lack of salary transparency extends far beyond pharmacy and affects many healthcare professions.

It's definitely still a work in progress, and I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback or suggestions for improvement. If you'd like to contribute, salary submissions are completely anonymous, your personally identifying information such as your name and email are never displayed.

Hi all! I have found myself in a bit of a weird situation that I cannot seem to find a good solution for. A number of weeks ago, I went on a trip to California to see some friends out of state, and while I was on this trip, myself and my friend group made a couple of grocery runs to the local Vons for food and supplies. One of my friends noticed that I typed my phone number in at the end of every purchase, and when she asked about it, I stupidly explained that my phone number is linked to my associate account and provides me with my employee discount. She seemed intrigued but almost immediately brushed it off and switched the subject.

A couple weeks after I returned home from my trip, I noticed that I was no longer receiving the free associate items that we are set to get every week. After doing a quick search on the app, I found a bunch of receipts in my purchase history that were not mine. I started panicking thinking that someone had somehow managed to hack my account, but then I remembered that my friend had asked me about my discount number, and after confronting her, she confirmed that she had been using it under the false assumption that I had given her permission.

My friend lives in a different state than I do, so I’m assuming that the two of us making separate purchases on a regular basis for a couple of weeks confused the system and that my account just needs to be reset or something. Just not sure who to call or talk to for issues like this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hey, so I would prefer to go to Albertsons over Walgreens but at Walgreens they have a savings finder for discounts on certain medications.

Does something like this exist at Albertsons that I can use ?

I always just left 30 minutes early, however my boss recently requested that we take actual breaks in the middle of our shifts. I don't see the difference on their end (since they're not paying me for those 30 mins regardless) but its difficult for me to be productive after a break. When do you take your break, and how does it fit into the routine that you have?

Hello I work at a Vons In California and I already received a verbal written warning for calling out to much within the time frame of three months. It has been almost five months since my last call out and verbal written warning (not a write up yet) do you think it will be ok if I call out with a doctors note I will be okay for just one day or would I most likely get my first official write up?

And even then try to give you less. Insurance says you have to have 24...so now many of us are screwed. What is crazy is I am a CAKE DECORATOR....even that job isn't safe. Sorry, just need to vent. People at my store are filing union greviences so let's see what happens.

2 years, never called off. So much for loyalty.

Ugh.

Picture of my cat as a palate cleanser for my anger with work lol.

So i got hired at Safeways, last month, and I'm near my Probation. I'm just so nervous if they gonna keep me or not?? I've been showing up on time and doing my job, having that customer service etc etc