Everybody likes to save money, and saving money on groceries—a household's third-largest expense—is a priority for many families, especially during uncertain economic times.
Denver7's Smart Shopper aims to help families save on grocery costs by tracking prices at four major supermarkets in the Denver metro area.
Each Wednesday, we’ll update our Smart Shopper Price Check with the latest prices of nine essential grocery items from King Soopers, Safeway, Walmart, and Target.
Here is the latest Denver7 Smart Shopper Price Check from August 20, 2025. See the results below, or view them in fullscreen here.
It was an August surprise as Safeway fell dramatically, the most significant one-week price drop of any chain for the week.
Still, overall totals have remained relatively stable over the past 16 comparisons, particularly for prices of several staple items.
Walmart secured the top position again this week, with a total of $25.90 for nine items, an exact carbon copy of last week's total.
It has become clear over the past 15 weeks that the nation's largest retailer is the one to beat, as Walmart stays steady while others swing in price by as much as 20%.
For the first time in several months, Safeway came in second place this week with a total of $27.87, which is more than $3 lower than last week.
Not only is this one of the first times the Boise-based grocer came in second place, it's also the lowest total we've seen from Safeway in the past 16 comparisons.
Target came in third, with a total of $28.91, down about a dollar from last week.
However, we have noticed a slight increase in non-essential items at the Minneapolis-based retailer, despite it often being the second cheapest grocery option in the Denver area.
King Soopers came in fourth place, with a total of $30.21, nearly a buck more than last week's total.
Regardless of its ranking at the bottom this week, Denver's largest grocer has remained competitive during the four months of Smart Shopper price checks.
Remember to utilize digital coupons and loyalty programs for extra savings.
The items we compared are all store brands and are as follows:
- 2% milk (1 gallon)
- Loaf of wheat bread (sandwich)
- Skinless chicken breast value pack (price per pound)
- Non-tubed ground beef 80/20 (price per pound)
- Dozen eggs (large A or AA)
- Toasted oats cereal (12 ounce)
- Creamy peanut butter (16 ounce)
- Bag of baby carrots (16 ounce)
- Box of four butter sticks (16 ounce)
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