Safeway and Walmart are debatably two of the largest stores in the world. Operating more than 11,000 locations combined, they are both giants in the shopping industry. With all this being said, you might wonder which one is better? Which one should you choose to shop at?
So, to help you answer this question, I decided to take a look at 3 major decision making factors from both stores:
- Price
- Product Quality
- Product Variety
Depending on what kind of shopper you are, you may prioritize these factors differently. For example, many shoppers will pick the store with the best prices, and other shoppers will pick the store with the best quality, etc.
However, these are arguably the most important things to consider when picking a store to shop at, so after reading this article, you should have a good idea of which one suits you best.
Which is Better: Safeway or Walmart? Walmart is cheaper than Safeway. More specifically, Walmart is 16% to 59% cheaper across a majority of shopping categories compared to Safeway. Additionally, Walmart offers more products at their store which means shoppers will have more options at their stores. However, Safeway does have better quality products than Walmart.
Is Safeway More Expensive Than Walmart?
As mentioned above, many shoppers prioritize price over everything and prefer to shop at the store that has the best prices or most opportunity for savings. So, when comparing these stores, which one offers the best prices?
So, between Safeway and Walmart, which one is cheaper? According to their online prices for their store brands, Walmart is cheaper. In other words, Walmart offers more affordable prices for almost all of their products compared to Safeway.
| Category | Safeway Brand | Walmart Brand |
| Beverages | ✓ | |
| Baking Goods | ✓ | |
| Canned Goods | ✓ | |
| Dairy | ✓ | |
| Dry Goods | ✓ | |
| Frozen Foods | ✓ | |
| Personal Care | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cleaners | ✓ | |
When it comes down to price, Walmart is the winner hands down. They offer the cheapest prices in practically all of the most common shopping categories. ‘Personal Care’ is the only shopping category where they both share the same average price.
In fact, Walmart’s prices are 16% to 59% cheaper than Safeway.
So, this means if you are someone who prioritizes price when shopping, Walmart is hands down the best option in comparison to Safeway.
Product Quality: Safeway vs Walmart
The quality of products is another factor that people consider when deciding where to shop. To figure out which store has better quality products, I looked at the FDA’s recall database. This database shows any and all product recalls that each store has had in recent times.
The store that has had more product recalls is likely the store with the lower quality products. So between Safeway and Walmart, which one has had more recalled items?
| Category | Safeway Recalls | Walmart Recalls |
| Animal & Veterinary | 0 | 2 |
| Biologics | 0 | 0 |
| Cosmetics | 0 | 0 |
| Dietary Supplements | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 0 | 6 |
| Food and Beverages | 11 | 21 |
| Medical Devices | 0 | 0 |
| Radiation Emitting Products | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 |
According to the FDA, Walmart has had significantly more product recalls in recent times. This suggests that Walmart does not have as high quality of goods compared to Safeway.
While Safeway’s recalls were focused in the Food and Beverage category, Walmart’s were spread amongst Food and Beverage, Drugs, and Animal & Veterinary.
Safeway: 11 Total Recalls
Walmart: 29 Total Recalls
As a shopper, if you prioritize product quality, then Safeway is your best choice.
Product Variety: Safeway vs Walmart
While product variety may not be considered a necessity, it still is an important factor to consider when comparing these two stores. So, which stores provide shoppers more options to pick from?
As a side note, Safeway is considered a supermarket whereas Walmart is considered a hypermarket. The main difference between the two is that hypermarkets carry grocery store items and department store items, whereas supermarkets typically carry grocery items and a very limited amount of department store items.
By nature, a store like Walmart should have more items available in its stores.
| Total Safeway Products | Total Walmart Products |
| 33,000+ products | 120,000 products |
Unsurprisingly, Walmart has significantly more items than Safeway. So, if you are a shopper that prefers having more options to pick from, Walmart is the better option for you.
Which One Should You Shop At: Safeway or Walmart?
When to shop at Safeway: Although Safeway doesn’t offer the best prices or as much product variety, they do offer better product quality. So, if you are a shopper that doesn’t mind paying a bit extra to get better quality products, then Safeway is better for you.
When to shop at Walmart: Walmart offers better prices and product variety. So, if you are a shopper that prioritizes savings, and/or prefer having many options to pick from. Walmart is the best option for you.