Consumers Union maintains that San Francisco supermarket profits are higher than they should be. That is, regardless of socioeconomic factors, season of the year or changing fads, consumers always buy milk. There is no good, reasonably-priced, nutritional alternative to milk. When food budgets are tight, consumers are more likely to scrimp on other items rather than limit their milk purchases. Many consumers are unaware of the price they pay for milk, and their busy lifestyles preclude them from shopping around for the best price.
Retailers consider milk a lure because it is so essential to families.
This is so despite the fact that the smaller stores pay higher wholesale costs per gallon for moving a smaller volume of milk, and despite the fact that almost all of the major supermarket chains process their own milk, eliminating the profit of the middle man and driving supermarket costs down. Consumers Union's Bay Area Milk Price Survey found that consumers pay the highest prices for milk at supermarket chains, and this remains true even in low-income areas. A good example of a large chain charging considerable more for a gallon of milk than a smaller market in the same neighborhood is Cala Foods on South Van Ness in the low-income Mission District of San Francisco. Survey Methodology Consumers Union's Milk Price Survey does not claim to be a comprehensive compendium of milk prices in a particular region. The methodology is to comparison-shop on a random basis, as a typical consumer might do.