T. Ozbun
Research expert covering food retail and all food topics for Italy and Brazil
Food retail in Canada - statistics & facts
Despite enduring significant challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing inflationary pressure, the food retail industry remains a prominent sector in Canada. The Canadian market encompasses food sold at food and beverage retailers, such as supermarkets and grocery stores, convenience stores, mass merchandisers, and specialty stores. In 2022, retail sales of food and beverage stores in Canada amounted to more than 147 billion Canadian dollars. In that same year, the leading Canadian food retailers were Loblaw Companies Ltd. with 29 percent market share, followed by Sobeys with 21 percent. Other leading food retailers were Costco Wholesale, Metro Inc., and Walmart Inc.
Food retail and key players
Of the nearly 28,000 food and beverage stores in Canada, over one third were in Ontario. Loblaw Companies Ltd., with over 2,400 stores nationwide, had the largest number of stores among grocery retailers in Canada and generated more than 39 billion Canadian dollars in food sales in 2022. Sobeys Inc. followed with around 1,400 stores and sales reaching just over 30 billion dollars in 2023. Revenues from Costco, Walmart, and Metro were not far behind with 33, 22, and 21 billion dollars, respectively.Consumer purchasing behavior
In terms of food expenditure, Canadians aged 14 to 18 appeared to spend the most, averaging about 4,080 Canadian dollars per year. Supermarkets were the preferred channel when grocery shopping, but recently discount stores have acquired the consumers’ interest especially due to rising food prices. In fact, price emerged as the most important factor when choosing a grocery store .Online trends in the food retail industry
E-commerce retail sales have grown steadily in recent years in Canada and are expected to continue their growth path. However, the share of food and beverage sales in total Canadian e-retail sales still accounted for less than five percent of the market in 2023, though it is expected to see a slight increase in the coming years. Third-party grocery delivery services like Instacart emerged as the favored channel for online grocery purchases, but leading retailers' online sites also remained a popular choice, as indicated by their e-commerce net sales.
