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Walgreens prices vary as much as 55% at some stores, study finds
Shop at the wrong Walgreens and you could end up paying significantly more t
han if you'd bought the exact same items at a store on the other side of tow
n, a recent study found.
While some price variation occurs at Rite Aid (RAD, Fortune 500) and CVS (CV
S, Fortune 500), Walgreens (WAG, Fortune 500) was the worst offender, with a
single item costing as much as 55% more depending on a store's location, ac
cording to a study of 485 drugstore locations in New York, Los Angeles, Oran
ge County, Calif., and Dallas-Forth Worth by the National Consumers League a
nd labor union coalition Change to Win.
The study was based on the listed prices for a basket of 25 items, ranging f
rom Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice to Huggies "Little Movers" diapers.
Depending on the city, the chain was up to five times more likely to have st
ore locations in the same market that charged different prices.
"It's a wake-up call I think for consumers," said Sally Greenberg, executive
director of the National Consumers League "The expectation is that you're g
oing to have the same prices within a chain."
Related: Hospital bills show wide variations for same treatment
In Dallas-Fort Worth, for example, Walgreens shoppers could pay $3 more for
Folgers coffee depending on the location they chose or $3.50 extra for cold
medication.
In New York City, a box of 10 Claritin allergy tablets cost anywhere from $1
0.49 to $15.99 depending on the Walgreens store. The same bottle of eye drop
s, meanwhile, cost $9.99 at a location in Queens and $15.49 a subway ride aw
ay on 57th street in Manhattan.
The differences can add up. The basket of 25 items cost $38 -- or nearly 20%
-- more at a Walgreens' flagship in New York City than it typically cost at
other nearby locations.
How Walgreens' acquisitions create value
How Walgreens' acquisitions create value
Walgreens spokesman Jim Graham said in a statement that the store's prices r
eflect the company's cost of doing business in different neighborhoods.
"Costs can vary from one location to another, even when they are a few block
s apart in dense urban areas, based on the store's cost of real estate, its
hours of operation including whether it is open 24 hours, labor costs and th
e number of customers it serves each day, among other factors," he said.
Related: CVS charges $133 more than Costco for generic drug
Price ranges of at least 20% were found among products at CVS stores, but su
ch large price disparities were much less frequent than at Walgreens. At Rit
e Aid, "virtually no products" had that large of a price difference, accordi
ng to the study.
CVS said that prices may vary at different stores based on local competition
and other operational factors. Rite Aid did not respond to requests for com
ment.
To conduct the study, researchers checked prices at Walgreens, CVS and Rite
Aid stores in New York City, Los Angeles and Orange County and Walgreens and
CVS stores in Dallas-Fort Worth. There are no Rite Aid stores in Dallas-For
t Worth.
Want to find the store with the best prices? Follow these tips from the Nati
onal Consumers League.
Ask about price matching: While they won't be able to match online prices, m
anagers are often able to match prices from other store locations of the sam
e chain.
Shop at the wrong Walgreens and you could end up paying significantly more t
han if you'd bought the exact same items at a store on the other side of tow
n, a recent study found.
While some price variation occurs at Rite Aid (RAD, Fortune 500) and CVS (CV
S, Fortune 500), Walgreens (WAG, Fortune 500) was the worst offender, with a
single item costing as much as 55% more depending on a store's location, ac
cording to a study of 485 drugstore locations in New York, Los Angeles, Oran
ge County, Calif., and Dallas-Forth Worth by the National Consumers League a
nd labor union coalition Change to Win.
The study was based on the listed prices for a basket of 25 items, ranging f
rom Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice to Huggies "Little Movers" diapers.
Depending on the city, the chain was up to five times more likely to have st
ore locations in the same market that charged different prices.
"It's a wake-up call I think for consumers," said Sally Greenberg, executive
director of the National Consumers League "The expectation is that you're g
oing to have the same prices within a chain."
Related: Hospital bills show wide variations for same treatment
In Dallas-Fort Worth, for example, Walgreens shoppers could pay $3 more for
Folgers coffee depending on the location they chose or $3.50 extra for cold
medication.
In New York City, a box of 10 Claritin allergy tablets cost anywhere from $1
0.49 to $15.99 depending on the Walgreens store. The same bottle of eye drop
s, meanwhile, cost $9.99 at a location in Queens and $15.49 a subway ride aw
ay on 57th street in Manhattan.
The differences can add up. The basket of 25 items cost $38 -- or nearly 20%
-- more at a Walgreens' flagship in New York City than it typically cost at
other nearby locations.
How Walgreens' acquisitions create value
How Walgreens' acquisitions create value
Walgreens spokesman Jim Graham said in a statement that the store's prices r
eflect the company's cost of doing business in different neighborhoods.
"Costs can vary from one location to another, even when they are a few block
s apart in dense urban areas, based on the store's cost of real estate, its
hours of operation including whether it is open 24 hours, labor costs and th
e number of customers it serves each day, among other factors," he said.
Related: CVS charges $133 more than Costco for generic drug
Price ranges of at least 20% were found among products at CVS stores, but su
ch large price disparities were much less frequent than at Walgreens. At Rit
e Aid, "virtually no products" had that large of a price difference, accordi
ng to the study.
CVS said that prices may vary at different stores based on local competition
and other operational factors. Rite Aid did not respond to requests for com
ment.
To conduct the study, researchers checked prices at Walgreens, CVS and Rite
Aid stores in New York City, Los Angeles and Orange County and Walgreens and
CVS stores in Dallas-Fort Worth. There are no Rite Aid stores in Dallas-For
t Worth.
Want to find the store with the best prices? Follow these tips from the Nati
onal Consumers League.
Ask about price matching: While they won't be able to match online prices, m
anagers are often able to match prices from other store locations of the sam
e chain.
