Harris Teeter has announced a 10% brandwide discount for various university students along the East Coast — including Elon University — that will run through Oct. 3. To claim the offer, students must bring their Phoenix Card. The college deal lowers to 5% off starting Oct. 3 and lasting near the end of the school year May 28, 2024. All discounts can be stacked on top of existing VIC card discounts.
In order to further promote the store’s discounts and market to college students, the Harris Teeter on south Church Street will be hosting a College Night Aug. 30 from 5 to 8 p.m.
According to Kristy Lawing, store director of the local Harris Teeter, the event will provide any student with a college ID and VIC card with 20% off on all store goods. The event also features a gas discount, a live DJ, wine and food samples and 10% off all Starbucks drinks.
“For this store, Elon coming back to town is huge,” Lawing said. “Right now, you definitely want to get in on it. This is the one time of year that we do this.”
Lawing also said that Elon students returning to campus every year is always a “morale boost” for the store that helps sales.
“We offer the discount for the college because we understand you want that little bit of a discount while going through college,” Lawing said.
Account Executive for the brand Harris Teeter Rob Trotter, who just graduated from Georgia College and State University last year, said he knows from experience what it is like struggling to afford groceries while in college, and the 10%, year-round discount aims to alleviate some of that stress.
“We are just trying to help college students because we remember how it was,” Trotter said. “I was in college last year, and being a broke college kid isn’t fun.”
According to Trotter, the deal was introduced as a win-win to support college students while getting more business.
“College kids come from far and wide, and sometimes they come from places where we aren’t,” Trotter said. “We just want to get the kids to come in and see what it’s about.”
The south Church Street location is only an 8-minute drive from Elon’s campus, making it one of the closest grocery stores to campus and a popular place for many students to shop.
Juniors Reagan O’Toole and Meredith Bugg have been roommates since freshman year and said they shop at Harris Teeter together every week. O’Toole also said she started shopping at Harris Teeter because of its promotional deals, and mentioned that Teeter’s VIC card gas discount is a big perk for students with cars.
“They did a student discount to incentivize signing up for a VIC card and that definitely made me sign up and make an account,” O’Toole said.
Junior Zack Hartman said he shops at Harris Teeter because it has more product variety and is less hectic than other grocery stores in the area.
The less money the better,” Hartman said. “It’s awesome.”
Lawing has decorated her store with the Elon colors and is excited to welcome more Elon Students to the area.
“Come back to the area and see what we have to offer here,” Lawing said. “We are all about our community and our customers. That’s what we do every day.”