Safeway and Fred Meyer are amongst some of the biggest store chains in the United States, employing over 280,000 people and operating over 1000 locations combined. Needless to say, both of these stores are notable brands in the industry. With all this being said, which one is better? More importantly, which one should you shop at?
To help you get to the bottom of these questions, I researched both stores and compared them based on 3 major factors. These 3 major factors are:
- Price
- Product Quality
- Product Variety
These are arguably the most important factors when it comes to deciding where to shop, so after reading this article, you should have a good idea as to which store is better suited for you.
Which is Better: Whole Foods or Safeway? In terms of price, Fred Meyer is hands down the better option in comparison to Safeway. Fred Meyere is 19% to 60% cheaper than Safeway for store brand items. However, when it comes to product quality and product variety, Safeway seems to be the better option for shoppers.
Is Safeway More Expensive Than Fred Meyer?
Most shoppers tend to look at the price when deciding on where to shop. It is one of the biggest decision making factors for potential customers. In other words, most shoppers will purchase items from the store that are either more affordable or offer the best ‘bang for your buck’ prices.
So, between Safeway and Fred Meyer, which one is cheaper? Fred Meyer is consistently cheaper than Safeway across all shopping categories. More specifically, Fred Meyer has more affordable prices in all 8 common shopping categories.
| Category | Safeway Brand | Fred Meyer Brand |
| Beverages | ✓ | |
| Baking Goods | ✓ | |
| Canned Goods | ✓ | |
| Dairy | ✓ | |
| Dry Goods | ✓ | |
| Frozen Foods | ✓ | |
| Personal Care | ✓ | |
| Cleaners | ✓ | |
When comparing the prices, Fred Meyer is the clear winner. It’s important to mention that Fred Meyer’s store brand items were anywhere from 19% to 60% cheaper than any of the Kroger store brand options. That means Fred Meyer offers huge savings for their customers.
So, if you are someone who prioritizes price over everything else when you are shopping for your goods, then Fred Meyer is the best option in comparison to Safeway.
Product Quality: Safeway vs Fred Meyer
Product quality is another big decision factor that many shoppers consider when choosing between stores. So, between these two stores, which one has the best product quality? I decided to look at the FDA’s product recall database, as it would show which store has had the most recalled items in recent times.
Essentially, the store with the least amount of recent product recalls has a better reputation housing higher quality items than the store with more product recalls.
| Category | Safeway Recalls | Fred Meyer Recalls |
| Animal & Veterinary | 0 | 0 |
| Biologics | 0 | 0 |
| Cosmetics | 0 | 0 |
| Dietary Supplements | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 0 | 1 |
| Food and Beverages | 11 | 15 |
| Medical Devices | 0 | 0 |
| Radiation Emitting Products | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 |
From the FDA’s database, Safeway seems to have had less product recalls in recent times. Both stores had a majority of their recalls in their ‘Food and Beverages’ section.
Safeway: 11 Total Recalls
Fred Meyer: 16 Total Recalls
Diving into the numbers a bit more, it seems that Safeway has had 5 less product recalls than Fred Meyer, coming in at a total of 11. Fred Meyer’s recalls resided between ‘Food and Beverage’ and ‘Drugs’.
As a shopper, if you prioritize product quality, then Safeway is your best choice.
Product Variety: Safeway vs Fred Meyer
While it’s not as important of a decision making factor as the previous two sections, product variety is still something to consider when deciding where to shop.
What this means is that the store with more product variety will have more options to pick from, allowing you to purchase everything you may need without having to shop elsewhere.
Something to note is that while Safeway is considered a supermarket, Fred Meyer is considered a hypermarket. By nature hypermarkets carry more items in their stores than supermarkets do.
| Total Safeway Products | Total Fred Meyer Products |
| 33,000+ | 10,000 |
Surprisingly, Safeway seems to carry more than 3 times the amount of products that Fred Meyer does. More specifically, Safeway seems to carry 33,000 products and Fred Meyer carries about 10,000 products.
Clearly, Safeway will have more options and more product variety for you to shop. So, if you are someone that loves having more to pick from, Safeway is your go to option.
Which One Should You Shop At: Safeway or Fred Meyer?
When to shop at Safeway: While Safeway is more expensive in comparison, they do offer slightly better product quality and product variety. So, if you don’t mind paying a bit extra for better quality and more options, then Safeway is the best for you.
When to shop at Fred Meyer: While Fred Meyer doesn’t offer the higher quality products or more product variety, they do offer the best prices hands down. So if you are a shopper that enjoys savings and doesn’t mind the slightly lower quality products or fewer options, then Fred Meyer is the best option for you.