If you've bought food at a major supermarket recently, it's pretty likely to have been Walmart. You don't need us to tell you how prominent the supermarket giant is: It's dominated the retail scene since the opening of its first store in 1962, and has since ballooned to over 4,600 individual locations. All those supermarkets carry a lot of grub — and because of the brand's ubiquity, you might feel like you've got buying food from there sussed out.

Surprisingly, though, buying food from Walmart is a bit more confusing than you think, and if you're not careful you can walk away with a poor haul. One of the main complications with buying food from Walmart is the sheer scope of its selection. With so many products in its stores, it's hard to know what's worth buying and what you should skip, and far too many people pick up the wrong items.

Although Walmart is already pretty cheap, a lot of folks also forget to utilize Walmart's offers and spend more than they should. Its reasonable prices also lead people to forget to compare and contrast how much things cost, and assume that the store offers a better price than other places. Stop wasting your money, and check out all the mistakes you're likely making.

1. Mistake: Assuming that Great Value food is inferior in quality Walmart has a few private labels, with a massive new private food label that was rolled out in early 2024. However, its Great Value line is its best-known private label, and Walmart goes big on its selection, stock.