Chain Price Wars: Four Vitamin Stores Reviewed

Posted by: Melissa W. // February 09 2010

As fate would have it, I suffer from a long list of food allergies. Because mainstream food is often not a viable option for me, my monthly routine involves stocking up on specialized protein powders, nutrition bars and nutritional supplements. The Vitamin Shoppe is usually my go-to store, but with so many options in the market, am I really getting the best price?

Vitamin and health food supplementation is a $25 billion dollar industry fueled by some strong trends, including:

The American desire to refocus on health as a counterbalance to recessionary stressors.

The aging Boomer population focusing on extending youth, treating ailments more naturally, and preventing disease.

The increased identification of food allergies and intolerances.

The awareness that food supply chains are producing weakened nutritional content in fresh foods.

Since our consumption is so extensive, it benefits us as consumers to make sure we’re paying a fair price for our dietary supplementation. For this article, I’ve reviewed four prominent suppliers of vitamin and health food products: The Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, Vitacost, and Vitamin World. Note: Vitacost is the only source that operates solely on the web.

THE ANALYSIS: I chose 16 random items and checked “regular,” “sale,” and “member” prices at all four stores online on the same day. 13 of these items are the same brand. Three store brands and/or house brands of D3, B6, and Glucosamine Sulfate were chosen for comparison.

The RESULTS: Vitacost had the best prices on EVERY SINGLE ITEM. No brick & mortar store equals massive savings. Don’t rush to your computer just yet: I must warn you about Vitacost. I’ve ordered from them twice, and I haven’t been happy either time. The first time they packaged my items carelessly, causing a bag of gluten-free pancake mix to explode all over the rest of the order. It took a few emails to rectify the situation. I decided to give them a second try recently, and they waited 24 hours to let me know that one of my items was backordered. That then delayed the shipping of the other items in my order. Emails I sent requesting that they expedite shipping on the non-backordered items went unanswered for five days. Once they responded, I requested that they should just cancel my order. That email went unanswered for an additional five days. By the time they responded, the order had shipped. In the end, it took a total of two weeks to receive my order. (See Pricing Table)

Unfortunately, those big savings passed on to the customer may be due to lack of investment in customer service.

That being said, I would like to recommend a second option for reasonable pricing. The Vitamin Shoppe had competitive pricing on 10 out of 16 items, and five of those items were the same price as Vitacost. I suspect that they keep a close eye on their competition and make an effort to adjust their prices as needed.

In addition, I like their “Healthy Awards” program. At the end of the year they issue a reward certificate that can be used toward new purchases. Their shipping is fast and hassle-free, and the customer service is excellent. They also have a convenient policy that opened items can be returned to the store for full store credit, no questions asked.

FINAL NOTE: Vitacost may have the best prices but their customer service needs a serious upgrade. For reasonable prices, plus great customer service and valuable member rewards, The Vitamin Shoppe is a no-hassle choice.

Shipping Notes:

Vitamin Shoppe ships orders over $99.00 for free. Members often receive “free shipping over $49.00” offers.
GNC ships orders over $99.00 for free.
Vitacost charges a flat $4.99 shipping fee.
Vitamin World ships orders over $75.00 for free. Orders under $75.00 ship for $1.95.

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