It’s Saturday. Earlier, you had all the time in the world, but you’re already running late for a lit af house party and you need booze. No brainer, right? Just run into your favorite neighborhood convenience store and pick up a six-pack or some cheap-ass wine.
Sure you could do that, but that would make you a sucker, according to recent data analysis. Turns out that consumers pay 9 percent more for beer on Saturday than on Monday, and 6 percent more for wine than on Tuesday. While this might seem like a useless tidbit of information, it’s actually “the first-ever data” to show how consumers can save money depending on which day of the week they buy alcohol, according to Forbes.
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By looking at 50 million receipts from retail stores, restaurants, and bars, the number-crunchers behind shopper-rewards app Ibotta were able to put together a thorough analysis of price fluctuations for beer, wine, ice cream, and a bevy of other consumer goods like sunscreen.
Obviously, we here at MUNCHIES cared mostly about the booze, and here are some of the interesting results to better help you navigate the aisles of your convenience grocery store to avoid getting suckered into that last-minute six-pack.
Among their findings was the fact that craft beer drinkers tend to spend 13 percent more per ounce on a six-pack than non-craft beer buyers, but can save 3 percent on their small, hoppy batches by shopping on Tuesdays. What’s more, it would appear that if saving money is your goal, then stay away from grocery and liquor stores. The ol’ six-pack costs the least, on average, at Walmart ($7.75) and Target ($8.11) and a bottle of wine is least expensive at Walgreens ($9.23) and Walmart ($9.39).
Sure, these are quirky facts to throw out once you’ve gotten to said lit house party, but what does it all mean? According to Ibotta CEO and founder Bryan Leach, retailers aren’t marking up their prices but, rather, it would appear that those who shop during the week are “meticulously comparing prices and stocking up on deals.”
“You may make a more deliberate choice,” he told Forbes. “And lo and behold you end up showing up at the party with that bottle of wine for less.” That, and the fact that people tend to spoil themselves on weekends, but beware, says Bryan Leach, “If you’re the kind of person who picks up on your way to a party you’re probably optimizing for convenience rather than value.”
But this means that you also have to decide whether or not you want to be the guy who shows up to the party with wine from Walgreens.
