For years, Canadians have felt like grocery bills were climbing faster than their paycheques. Now, new research from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and the Agri-Food Analytics Lab puts a number behind that feeling.
Canadian households now spend 22.04% of their take-home income on food, groceries and dining out combined. That places Canada 10th among G20 countries and underscores a growing affordability challenge for families from coast to coast.
For many households, food has quietly become one of the largest monthly expenses, second only to housing. Every trip to the grocery store now demands more planning, more compromises, and more attention to price.
The Hidden Cost of Shopping on Habit
Most Canadians still shop the way they always have. They visit the same store every week, assuming prices are roughly the same everywhere. They’re not.
The exact same grocery list can vary significantly from one store to another, sometimes even within the same neighbourhood. Everyday shelf prices, flyer promotions, and product availability all contribute to those gaps. When grocery costs consume more than one-fifth of your take-home pay, those differences start to matter a lot.
Saving Money Starts Before You Leave Home
The challenge has never been wanting to save money. It’s finding the time to compare multiple stores, browse weekly flyers, calculate unit prices, and figure out where your full grocery list will actually cost less.
That’s where technology is starting to make a real difference.
Gofer.run is a free Canadian app that compares grocery prices across participating stores using your complete shopping list. Instead of checking products one at a time, Gofer evaluates your entire basket including everyday prices and current flyer deals, so you can see where your groceries may cost less before you even leave home.
In just a few minutes, shoppers can make more informed decisions and potentially save money without changing a single item on their list.
Every Dollar Counts and Adds Up
When food accounts for 22% of take-home income, small savings quickly become meaningful.
Gofer users report saving up to 25% on their grocery bills and those savings add up fast. What starts as $20 or $30 back in your pocket each week can grow into hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars over the course of a year.
Canadians can’t control inflation. They can’t control supplier costs or global food prices. But they can control where they shop.
And in today’s economy, making informed grocery decisions has never been more important.
Download gofer.run for free and find out how much your next grocery trip could cost before you head to the store.