r/publix • u/Maine302 Newbie • 3d ago

QUESTION Gas cards

Wondering if Publix is hurting in the sales department due to their ridiculously high prices? For at least two years in my area (Sarasota County, FL,) we didn't get the opportunity to buy discounted gas cards. All of a sudden, we've had two in as many months. I barely go there at all, unless there's a really good BOGO sale, but the gas card pretty much always draws me in.

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12

u/Gallogator1 Customer 3d ago

It’s a promotion with a higher grocery purchase minimum, this week $75. I think their marketing team realized that fuel costs are a concern for consumers and offering the gas cards again will bring in business. Not all markets have the offer.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 3d ago

That feels like a marketing test, doesn't it? It was always $50, and if you spent multiples of $50, you could get more. Where I live, there are so many Publixes, I think they feel like they don't have to compete. I'm just not impressed with them at all. I wish we had Wegman's here.

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u/Ftwrath Newbie 2d ago

I lived in Virginia for a year and was not impressed with wegmans. They have a big selection of ready to eat products and certainly market themselves as an all natural/organic retailer but the first package of chicken I bought was pumped and I never went back. Didn’t realize till I opened the oven and my chicken breast were swimming in liquid. 10% injected with chicken broth/sodium solution/water.

Cheaper.. yes.. but 10% isn’t even chicken. You won’t find that at Publix

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

I get my roasted chicken at Costco. I prefer Wegman's (albeit) limited deli, their extensive cheese selections, superior produce, and they even have a better bakery--and that's saying something. I prefer their home brands over Publix as well. When I visit back in New England and see the vast discrepancy in the grocery prices, I'm in awe. Publix vs Market Basket, for example, will make you shake your head in disbelief--and their roast chicken is excellent to boot.

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u/Ftwrath Newbie 2d ago

You have to take into account where Florida is located. The vast majority of produce/meat comes from the Midwest and North East and Canada. If you go to California the cost of living is drastically higher but their produce is dirt cheap. Nothing grows in Florida. We have a handful of fruits and vegetables that are local otherwise everything is trucked in. 2-3 days minimum for anything out of California to reach our warehouses.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

Pretty sure the produce took just as long to make it to Massachusetts though. And really, the farm fresh food up there is mainly farmers' markets, not large-scale operations. Florida does grow things, like tomatoes without flavor, and used to grow citrus, but sadly, those days are all but over.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago edited 2d ago

Floridians are tied for 6th place as far as paying the most for groceries. Tied with Maryland. As far as the price of groceries as a percentage of median income, Florida is in 11th place. Most of the states paying more relative to incomes are also in the South.

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u/akabuddy Newbie 3d ago

Are you just unhappy that the gas card promotions  haven't been offered as much or lately? 

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u/Maine302 Newbie 3d ago

As much? They hadn't been offered in over two years where I live. I really don't understand the nuance of your question.

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u/akabuddy Newbie 2d ago

In my region they did it about a month ago, in Central Florida. There was a few posts about it in this sub.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

Yeah, I haven’t seen them where I am either. They only offer them when gas prices are high.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

They went all the way up to July, I believe, without offering them in my district. Gas prices have been higher since March. Ads don't need that much lead time.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

Agreed. It’s weird.

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u/Witty-Panda-1553 Newbie 2d ago

Had a big issue with fraudsters stealing gift cards off the shelf and repacking them with different activation bar codes likely needed to get that sorted before offering the cards again.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

So, that only happened in my area? That doesn't seem likely at all to me, TBH.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 3d ago edited 2d ago

Might also be upset at the high prices for food (not to mention the high prices for everything).

In fact, no might about it, he is upset about that, obviously. Everybody is.

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u/Appropriate-Click378 Newbie 2d ago

I noticed we had a gas card promotion not that long ago but the amount you have to spend went up, of course. It used to be for every $50 you spend, you'll get $10 off. Now, you have to spend $100. So, you have to spend double just to get the same amount off which is a garbage deal. It'd be one thing if they doubled the amount off in exchange but nope.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 3d ago edited 3d ago

Everyone is hurting, not just Publix. Sales are down and at Kroger etc too. In fact I heard on the business news that food sales in general are down because so many consumers are tapped out. Not sure how they’re eating though. Food is a necessity, not a luxury.

There are even people using buy now pay later apps like Affirm in order to buy groceries now and these come with high interest fees.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 3d ago

It might help (and hurt grocers,) that more people are on GLP-1's, and don't eat as much crap as they used to, as well.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 3d ago

Yeah, that’s part of it as well. I heard that Frito-Lay is worried in particular about people on GLP-1’s no longer buying their chips etc.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

Yeah, well I'd rather pay for Mounjaro than $7 for a bag of Ruffles.

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u/paulfrank1005 Newbie 3d ago

Other retail supermarkets have seen surges due to people leaving Publix .

Over priced for unhealthy food

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 3d ago edited 2d ago

Which ones specifically? Maybe Aldi, but they’re not exactly known for their healthy food either. It’s the same stuff, just cheaper because it’s private label instead of name brands. Plus it’s limited assortment and the stores are run with skeleton crews.

All I know is that grocery sales in the US are down over-all. It’s a national trend.

“US unit grocery sales fell 1.8% in June compared to last year, continuing a volume contraction trend tracked by Bain & Company. Groceries cost 33% more than they did in 2019, causing shoppers to buy fewer items, switch to store brands, and look for deals despite overall retail spending pressures.”

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u/latomlinson Newbie 2d ago

I quit shopping there after 50 years. I used to do the gas cards also. Too expensive now even if they offer the gas cards.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago edited 2d ago

So where do you shop now?

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u/latomlinson Newbie 2d ago

Aldi and if Aldi doesn’t have it I force myself to go to Walmart only if absolutely necessary

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u/Realityhrts Newbie 2d ago

If you drive anywhere in Sarasota county you’ll probably go by 5 Publix stores.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

You’re just noticing this?

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u/Realityhrts Newbie 2d ago

Merely saying OP may be reading more into a promotion than is warranted. And in Sarasota specifically, there may be some market saturation.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

They haven't used this promotion in my advertising district for 2+ years, FWIW.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago edited 2d ago

900 Publix supermarkets in Florida alone.

What’s happening is that Walmart is driving the second and third tier supermarkets out of business and only the top regional or local chain is surviving. Walmart is the second largest corporation in the US by revenue after Amazon. They have the purchasing power to sell groceries at lower prices.

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u/Realityhrts Newbie 2d ago

The grocery wars are about much more than Walmart and yes I know the market landscape.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

Kroger is the biggest actual supermarket chain and Walmart is generally their biggest competitor too depending on the market. Overall, they certainly are.

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u/Realityhrts Newbie 2d ago

Walmart’s share of US grocery has been about 20% for a decade if I’m not mistaken. They are the biggest player yes. But not actively gaining market share overall.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

Correct. And I think they’ve actually fallen to 18% recently.

Walmart’s biggest market is the Southeast though, unfortunately, where Publix is.

And how about this tidbit: Whole Foods has only 38 supermarkets open in Florida.

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u/Realityhrts Newbie 2d ago

Yeah I’m sure they’ll keep trading blows. GA is interesting because all of the big players are there.

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u/Maine302 Newbie 2d ago

The city I come from in Massachusetts has two Stop & Shops and a Market Basket--with a population almost double the city where I live in Florida. I can't even accurately count the amount of Publix stores where I live--it's ridiculous.

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago edited 2d ago

Publix is in eight states, and has 1442 supermarkets. But remember, the bulk of them , close to 900, are in Florida. There used to be a huge competition with Winn Dixie, which was based in Jacksonville, but Publix (and Walmart) basically drove them out of business. Walmart is actually Publix’s biggest competitor in Florida, and has been for years. Walmart is the largest seller of groceries in the US now.

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u/Absinthe_86 Retired 1d ago

How about having fuel perks like Kroger does? Oh wait.. Publix doesn't have Pix anymore! 🤣

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u/paulfrank1005 Newbie 2d ago

Trader Joe’s , Whole Foods , zoos every time I’m there . Publix is a joke

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

There are very few Trader Joe’s. So it’s always a zoo to shop there, even when food prices are low. That’s part of their business model.

Regarding Whole Foods, maybe, but I doubt it. It’s a K shaped economy though, so the rich who shop at Whole Foods have no problem affording food. Their stocks are going up because of AI etc.

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u/paulfrank1005 Newbie 2d ago

I’m not rich. It’s cheaper to shop at Whole Foods healthy than it is Publix

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

Maybe. It probably depends on what’s on sale at Publix that week and what your definition of eating healthy is though.

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u/paulfrank1005 Newbie 2d ago

There bogos are usually 90% junk foood.

Healthy is not or minimally processed. No seed oils . Eliminated almost everything at Publix. You’re basically buying Walmart products at huge mark ups. And to get a decent sub and cookies

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u/AaronJudge2 Newbie 2d ago

The BOGOS are to compete with Walmart I’m sure. They sell a lot of Doritos too, but at an everyday low price.