Stop & Shop Lowering Prices On Some Groceries, Including At Nantucket Stores

Stop & Shop, the regional supermarket chain with two locations on Nantucket, is lowering prices on thousands of items across all of its Eastern Massachusetts stores this month, in some cases by more than 25 percent. The price cuts include the chain's Nantucket stores, company officials confirmed.

“Value is so important for our customers right now,” Jennifer Barr, Stop & Shop’s Director of External Communications & Community Relations, told the Current. “This is part of a multi-year effort that Stop & Shop is making to improve the customer experience overall, and one facet of that is lowering prices.”

Some of the lower prices are already in place on island, and full implementation is expected by the end of the month.

A rare example of a major retailer reducing the everyday costs of its products amidst higher-than-usual inflation rates and tariff increases, Stop & Shop’s initiative affects the cost of items before any sales or discounts, meaning the actual prices shoppers pay may be even lower.

As part of the press release announcing the reduced costs, Stop & Shop provided a list of some of the reductions, including the current prices of the products. But some of the items on the list cost more on Nantucket than Stop & Shop claimed they should, even going by the old numbers.

Barr said this is normal, as costs fluctuate depending on the location.

“Prices and the availability of the items will...vary by location,” she said. “Like any retailer, there will be variations.”

Some of the reduced-cost items are part of Stop & Shop’s line of store-brand products, while others are products made by national brands.

“Massachusetts is our home, and bringing meaningful savings to millions of customers right in our backyard is an important milestone in our broader strategy,” Roger Wheeler, President of Stop & Shop, said. “We know that value matters now more than ever, and this price investment - which is the largest one we’ve executed to date - is just one example of the work we’re focused on to deliver a great experience for our customers in terms of value, high-quality products, and service in our stores.”

Barr also noted that Stop & Shop timed the price decreases to coincide with the beginning of the school year to help support families.