If you have recently visited Harris Teeter and looked at your receipt, you may have wondered why your total cost for your groceries was so high. You are not alone, many customers wonder why their prices are higher than other grocery stores.
In this article, I break down the main reasons why Harris Teeter is so expensive.
Why Is Harris Teeter So Expensive:
- Higher wages
- No price match
- Specialized Departments
- Subsidiary Fees
1. High Employee Wages
While Harris Teeter is more affordable than most other grocery stores, they still are not the cheapest.
One of the main reasons why Harris Teeter is so expensive is because they pay their employees higher wages and salaries than the national average. This means that they are likely to charge higher prices for their products to make up for this expense.
According to Indeed, for the most common jobs and positions, Harris Teeter pays about 45% above the national average. Because of this, Harris Teeter has to charge a bit extra in order to compensate for the higher paid employees.
2. They Do Not Price Match
Unlike stores like Walmart, Harris Teeter does not price match products from other stores. This means that regardless of what other sales their competitors are running, they will not budge on their prices.
So, customers have to wait until Harris Teeter runs their sales before they will see any drop in price.
3. Specialized Departments
In addition to their regular produce department, Harris Teeter has other departments that require additional costs to operate. While these departments are smaller, they still command a sizable cost to the overall business.
Pharmacy Department: Many Harris Teeter locations have a pharmacy department. They allow customers to conveniently come in and grab their prescriptions.
Pharmacy employees command higher wages and salaries which means higher costs to Harris Teeter
Floral Department: Another department cost that Harris Teeter has to pay for is their floral department. While it is not as expensive to operate as a pharmacy, it still adds additional costs.
4. They Are A Subsidiary
Harris Teeter was acquired by Kroger, which means they still operate under their own name, but they are entirely owned by Kroger. As a subsidiary, Harris Teeter is expected to pay subsidiary fees to the parent company.
The fees that they pay are essentially a profit-share in which Kroger gets a portion of the profit that Harris Teeter makes. It is not known how big the profit-share is, but it is yet another cost that gets factored into how much Harris Teeter charges their customers.
Conclusion: Why Is Harris Teeter So Expensive?
While Harris Teeter still remains one of the more affordable grocery chains, they are still not the cheapest. Hopefully this breakdown of their costs gave you some insight into why that is. So, next time you are shopping around and wonder why Harris Teeter has higher prices than normal, you will have a better understanding as to why.
Also, with this information in mind, you may think twice about where you shop, and where is the most affordable place to go.