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SECOND PLACE: WALMART  Walmart, with more than 10,500 stores in every state and 19 countries, was only $1.52 more expensive than Aldi. Walmart’s generic brand held its own but was slightly

more expensive in some categories, which pushed its basket bill over Aldi’s. In our price comparison last May, Walmart came out on top. At $88.37, its basket was $2.54 cheaper than Aldi’s.

Walmart may win back its top spot as it expands its ongoing program of price rollbacks this summer. Paul Madiefsky, a 68-year-old retiree from Long Island, hasn’t noticed the price cuts yet,

but is still fond of the retailer. “Prices are reasonable. I don’t find them expensive, and they have good stuff,” says Madiefsky. To save money Madiefsky uses coupons, finding them online

and in newspapers. As for Walmart’s price cuts, Madiefsky welcomes any savings. “It’s only a few pennies here, 20 cents there. But it adds up for people who are struggling,” he says. THIRD

PLACE: TARGET  Target, with 1,956 stores in every state, had the priciest basket by a wide margin. In many categories, Target’s prices were only slightly higher, but higher-priced salmon and

no store-brand milk or cornflakes proved costly. Target's basket was $17.51 more than Aldi’s with those three items, but just $5.86 more without them. It was $15.99 more than Walmart’s

with them and only $2.21 more without them. That may not matter for shoppers like Annette Kruzynski, a 78-year-old retiree from West Hempstead, New York, who sees grocery shopping at Target

as an extra convenience. It was only recently, when she was shopping for cat litter, that she realized Target sold groceries. “Anytime we go to Target we pick up a few things,” says

Kruzynski.  Target just cut the prices on 1,500 items, from milk to paper towels, with more to come. The retailer plans to reduce prices on about 5,000 items, which it says will save

consumers millions of dollars this summer. Kruzynski says she’ll likely visit Target more if she can save. “We go where the sales are. Whoever has the lowest price gets our business,” says

Kruzynski. AARP (Source: Getty Images (2))