To save money, many women (68 percent) are willing to switch brands of over-the-counter medications, and 67 percent are willing to switch brands of milk or eggs, according to a recent poll conducted by ShopSmart, the shopping magazine published by Consumer Reports.

But only 29 percent say they would change their brand of pet food. Women are also reluctant to switch cosmetics (30 percent say they’d switch), personal care items (48 percent) and toilet paper (49 percent).

The poll also found that when it comes to shopping for new appliances, 27 percent of women say that reliability is the most important consideration, while the brand falls well behind the other factors in determining which appliance to buy at 4 percent. However, women are not willing to sacrifice brand name to save money on appliances, as only 38 percent of women said they would buy a lesser-known brand to save money.

This season, longtime Food City shoppers are finding themselves shoulder to shoulder with newcomers more interested in discount prices than in the stores’ specialty: imports from Mexico and traditional Hispanic foods.

The weak economy partly underlies a subtle demographic change at the 15-year-old discount grocery stores. Food City officials also say Arizona’s legal crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers, believed to have forced many Hispanics to leave Arizona, has cut into business.

A typical newcomer to Food City is discount hunter Philip Turner of Avondale. The 20-year-old retail sales worker rarely cooks Mexican food but knows a good buy. “The prices are fantastic,” Turner said as he pushed a shopping cart around the store at 1450 N. Dysart Road in Avondale. The only traditional Hispanic food in his cart was a package of tortillas.

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