With skyrocketing inflation hitting most grocery aisles, some chains are working harder than ever with offers and promises to entice shoppers.
Grocery and finance experts tell Global News that switching stores for the best deal can sometimes help lower your final bill, but few expect big grocery stores to recently promise to help Canadians fight coronavirus. ‘inflation.
Grocery bills have been a particular source of pain for households this year, as soaring food prices have consistently outpaced the general inflation rate for the past 10 months, according to Statistics Canada.
Inflation on grocery items rose 11.4% last month, setting a new high in 41 years.
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Prices for many grocery store staples soared in September, according to Statistics Canada.
Sylvain Charlebois, director of Dalhousie University’s food analysis lab, said Loblaw made a timely decision when it announced a price freeze on its No Name-branded items on Monday, ahead of the latest retail price index. consumption. The figures.
Charlebois is giving Loblaw a “credit” for the move, which applies to more than 1,500 items and runs from November through January – covering the lucrative holiday shopping season for the grocery giant.
He adds that the wide range of products offered in the range may lead shoppers to create a complete “product portfolio”, if they wish to adapt their habits to take advantage of the price freeze.
While Charlebois tells Global News it’s a month or two “too late,” he says with many Canadians pointing the finger at grocers themselves for soaring food prices, it’s up to the chains to show that they take Canadians seriously.
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“I don’t know if it can really counter the effects of inflation. This will provide Canadians with predictability instead of staring at shocking stickers,” Charlebois said of Loblaw’s price freeze.
“Predictability has a lot of currency.”
Metro responded the next day, saying holding prices during the holiday season is standard practice in the grocery industry.
The grocer also said it would not accept cost increases from suppliers for roughly the same period, although Charlebois said the move “led to a lot of confusion” and “didn’t really did nothing.”
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Others are also not convinced that Loblaw’s price freeze will have a significant impact on families struggling with inflation.
Personal finance expert Rubina Ahmed-Haq points out that for Loblaw to freeze prices now, it’s only keeping higher costs that have already risen with inflation.
“It’s not like they’re lowering the prices and actually making a difference so that this week when you shop it’s going to feel a little bit more affordable than last week,” she told Global News. .
“I would have liked to see grocery stores…make a difference by lowering prices to reflect the fact that shipping is cheaper and inflation is slowing.”
Full-service stores will likely cost more
Changing groceries may make sense for some shoppers feeling the pressure of inflation, but experts say there are a few caveats to keep in mind before switching up your routine.
Ahmed-Haq says she hears more and more shoppers losing their “brand loyalty” as prices rise.
“In the past, we would go to the same grocery stores because they are close to us and we like the products they sell and maybe we get good points with the credit card we have” , she says.
“Now consumers, grocery store shoppers are going where the prices are lowest.”
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Recent research from the food analysis laboratory reveals how consumer buying habits are changing.
The survey, conducted in September, showed that 21% of shoppers opt more often for private labels like No Name.
About one in three shoppers use coupons more often, while 32.1% read weekly flyers more often.
Some 19.1% of shoppers visit discount stores more often to buy food, and 11.5% buy food more regularly at the dollar store.
Simon Somogyi, a food business professor at the University of Guelph, told Global News that as a general rule, grocers who have more in-store services like a large deli counter and on-site bakery will cost more than discount options like the aptly named No Frills or Food Basics.
However, the total at the end of your receipt is not the only cost to keep in mind. Somogyi notes that the return of shopping at discount stores fades as you have to travel to get there.
“If you happened to travel across town or travel long distances to get a cheaper product, you would be spending a lot on fuel. Again, it’s a bit of a waste of money,” he says.
When can buyers expect relief?
While Canadians may have blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and bad weather that drove up grocery prices, Charlebois says Canada’s loonie is increasingly responsible for food inflation.
As the winter months approach, Canada will have to rely on imports from the United States and Mexico for fresh food deliveries, he says. As the Canadian dollar weakens against the US greenback, goods from south of the border will cost importers more and these prices will be passed on to consumers.
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“It’s a dangerous time of year to see currency become an issue because we’re slowly marching into winter,” Charlebois says.
Despite these near-term headwinds, Charlebois says that after a record year for grocery price increases, he expects 2023 to be “milder” for consumers.
Somogyi notes that with the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike path, the Canadian dollar could appreciate a little more this year and keep import prices a little more manageable.
But he also says Canadians can mitigate rising prices for fresh fruits and vegetables heading into the winter months by buying them frozen.
Foods that were “snap frozen” at harvest time seal in nutrition and tend to retail for less at the grocery store, Somogyi says. Consumers also generally waste less frozen produce because it is resealed and returned to the freezer when opened, unlike fresh alternatives which can expire before use.
Somogyi also notes that some of the grocery items facing the highest inflation rates are those containing grains – pasta, cereals and baked goods, for example.
Although prices for grain products have declined globally in recent months, these discounts have yet to make their way to grocery store shelves, he says.
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Somogyi says Canadians would be wise to shop for grain-free products or shop around for those items to avoid the sharpest pinch of inflation.
“This may mean having to reduce these items to some extent. Look for cheap options,” he says.
“I think it’s important to be a savvy shopper at a time when all food prices are going up quite dramatically.”
– With files from Ross Lord of Global News, Kyle Benning
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