Grocery habits among Canadians are undergoing a shift. NielsenIQ figures reveal that consumers are spreading their spending across a wider range of stores, shopping more often in smaller quantities, and demonstrating reduced attachment to established supermarket chains and branded products.
Following years of elevated grocery costs, consumers in Canada have grown more deliberate in their purchasing habits. Consumers are reported to be distributing purchases across multiple stores, tracking deals more carefully, and evaluating which proteins and brands remain within their price range.
During the 13-week window under review, shoppers made an average of 63.6 buying trips, compared with 58.1 at the start of the period. This equates to approximately five transactions per week, though those purchases need not involve separate visits to a physical store. The index tracks retail spending across a wide range of channels, spanning grocery chains, wholesale clubs, general merchandise retailers, pharmacies, discount outlets, and e-commerce platforms. Multiple transactions can take place within a single day, and the person tracked in the data may represent an entire household rather than a sole individual.
Data nonetheless points in a clear direction: purchasing frequency among Canadians has been on the rise. Meanwhile, the average value per purchase dropped from $39.42 to $38.08, representing a 3.4 per cent decrease. Shoppers are opting for lower-value basket sizes, yet visiting stores with greater regularity.
Data on expenditure per purchaser point to an overall rise in what each buyer spends. Purchasing smaller quantities more frequently does not guarantee that households spend less overall. The behaviour aligns with selective purchasing patterns typical of opportunistic buying.
Households might pick up fresh produce at a standard grocery chain, purchase meat from a wholesale retailer, stock pantry staples at a big-box store, grab discounted goods at a pharmacy, and complete the week's shopping through an online delivery order. Grocery purchasing patterns appear to be shifting away from single large weekly shops toward multiple smaller purchases made through a variety of retail channels.
Conventional supermarkets continue to lead the nation's food retail landscape, though their dominance has been gradually eroding. In the 12 months to date, their share of monitored expenditure stood at 47.8 per cent, a decline of 1.3 percentage points. Of every $100 flowing through the tracked retail market, under $48 now reaches a traditional grocery outlet.
Warehouse clubs expanded their portion of the overall market by 0.9 percentage points, with mass merchants adding a further 0.3 points. Warehouse club transactions climbed 11.5 per cent, while the volume of items bought grew by 6.9 per cent. Retailers catering to culturally diverse communities also recorded notable growth, with transaction values rising 12.1 per cent and purchase volumes up 9.7 per cent.
Digital retail proved to be the top-performing channel, with expenditure climbing 17.9 per cent and the volume of items bought rising by 22.1 per cent.
The drive for lower prices is reshaping the rivalry between long-established national brands and retailer own-label products. Private-label products account for 24.3 per cent of unit volume sold, yet their share of total retail expenditure stands at just 18.8 per cent. About one in four kilograms of tracked products purchased carries a store label, yet those items represent less than a fifth of total consumer expenditure. Private-label products tend to offer greater quantity per unit of expenditure, a factor that underlies their broad consumer attraction.
Store-brand unit sales grew 1.5 per cent across the most recent 52-week period, whereas volumes for nationally distributed brands edged down by 0.2 per cent. While both recorded dollar sales expansion of 3 per cent, the drivers behind that growth diverge considerably. Shoppers have been turning to private-label products in growing numbers. Revenue at major consumer labels has climbed without a corresponding rise in units sold.
Store-brand products offer shoppers only limited shelter from the pricing pressures affecting meat and seafood. Private-label meat and seafood units dropped 4 per cent, even as revenue from those categories grew by 2 per cent. Purchasing volumes declined even as prices continued to rise.
Data covering the most recent 12-week period show a notable shift in how consumers are allocating their spending across animal protein categories. Volume of cottage cheese sold grew by 17 per cent, while revenue from those purchases climbed at a faster rate of 25 per cent. While overall seafood volumes in the monitored category rose by 13 per cent, salmon recorded a decline over the same period.
Catch quantities fell by 36 per cent. Revenue from salmon dropped by just 23 per cent, even as volumes fell further, pointing to higher average prices paid per unit or a buyer shift toward premium product categories. Processed cheese spreads saw a comparable, if more modest, decline. Overall volume dropped by 22 per cent, while tracked meat categories recorded a 10 per cent reduction.
Demand for cottage cheese has been on the rise, attributed in part to its high protein content, adaptability in recipes, and affordability. Certain seafood categories are recording expansion as well. Volumes are declining for salmon, processed cheese spreads, and certain meat products. Factors such as cost, promotional offers, accessibility, and shifting dietary preferences are each likely shaping what ends up in shoppers' baskets.
Shoppers across Canada are increasingly pushing back against elevated prices. Brand recognition, proximity, and loyalty programmes can still influence purchasing decisions, where the perceived value holds up. Buyers today have access to a broader range of resources, platforms, and a readiness to redirect their purchasing decisions.
When revenue climbs for national brands yet unit sales hold steady or fall, buyers are spending more money without actually purchasing the product with greater frequency. The data point to a gap in the market that benefits own-label products and non-traditional retail outlets.
Traditional grocery retailers retain the largest portion of consumer expenditure, yet data points to a gradual redistribution of household spending toward alternative channels. Costco, Walmart, speciality retailers, and online platforms have each grown into recognised shopping destinations in their own right.
Consumer behaviour is marked by increasing diversity and divergence across purchasing patterns. Shoppers are distributing their spending across a wider range of retailers, completing more frequent transactions, purchasing in smaller quantities, and opting for alternative products when the price-to-value ratio no longer meets their expectations. Regular grocery shopping trips remain part of household routines, though they no longer account for the entirety of how families allocate their food spending.
