Commissaries Ring Up Increased Savings

Commissary customers rang in the new year with record-breaking savings. “Average customer savings for a family of four have risen to nearly $3,000 annually,” said Patrick Nixon, Defense Commissary Agency director and chief executive officer. “As an agency, we always deliver the message that our savings are an ‘average of 30 percent or more’ worldwide, but savings have actually been holding steady at about 32 percent for several years.” DeCA has not revised its savings messages for more than a year, but using current U.S. Department of Agriculture figures for retail grocery food purchases consumed at home, a family of four shopping at the commissary on a regular basis can save $2,957 annually on groceries. The figure formerly used was $2,700. Under the latest calculations, couples can save $1,885, and individuals can save $1,029 by shopping regularly at their commissary.