You’re not the only one heading to the dollar store to fill up your grocery cart.
Food Professor Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, tells our newsroom some of us have been heading to discount stores to offset high grocery prices.
He calls it “trading down.”
“A recent report from NielsenIQ suggests food sales at dollar stores are up 17 percent since March,” Charlebois says. “You can see that people are changing address. They’re looking at deals much more aggressively.”
Charlebois adds we’re also trading down in terms of brands with private labels gaining popularity. He believes if you want to dodge the food inflation bullet, that’s not a bad thing to do.
Meantime, you might be on to something if you’ve noticed your restaurant bill is cheaper than your grocery order.
Charlebois says restaurants have been offering us a treat when it comes to food prices. Over the last six months, menu prices have climbed at a slower pace than food at grocery stores.
“There’s more competition and restauranteurs want our business back as much as possible,” Charlebois says. “So, there is that fight going on in favour of consumers.”
Charlebois believes there may also be “a light at the end of the food inflation tunnel.” He says the latest stats show the food inflation rate has peaked in Canada.
Statistics Canada reported last week the country’s annual inflation rate climbed to 8.1 per cent in June. The cost of food is up 8.8 per cent compared with a year ago. The food inflation rate might be outpacing the general rate, but it’s not as much of a climb as reported in April and May.
Charlebois says that means the food industry has likely caught up with supply chain issues. Generally speaking, he believes the situation is under control, with the exception of dairy.
The food professor says you can expect to see better deals in grocery stores.
“It doesn’t mean that food prices are dropping any time soon, it’s just things are much more under control,” Charlebois explains. “You may see more promotions. If you go to discount grocery stores you’ll actually see a difference in terms of prices”
