T. Ozbun
Research expert covering food retail and all food topics for Italy and Brazil
Supermarkets and grocery stores in Canada - statistics & facts
The competition for the top position among grocery retailers in Canada has been intense, featuring prominent players from both the local Canadian market and neighboring U.S. market. The food and beverage industry, encompassing both the retail and processing sectors, stands as one of Canada’s largest and most fiercely competitive trades. In 2022, the three leading grocery retailers in Canada were Loblaw Companies Limited, Sobeys Inc. and Costco. With 15,872 grocery stores in Canada, most of which located in the most populous regions of Ontario and Quebec, this segment plays a key role in the total of 27,960 food and beverage stores in the country.
Market leaders
In Canada, retail sales of supermarkets and other grocery stores amounted to close to 102 billion Canadian dollars. The leading grocery retailers had a large presence with their numerous store locations throughout the Canadian territory. Loblaws for example had a total of 2,444 stores in 2022. Sobeys’s presence numbered more than a thousand stores through its various banners, while Metro, Inc. operated 1,612 stores. Although mostly drugstores, Metro was also relevant in the food retail industry in Canada with its 328 supermarkets. Among the leading retailers were also American supermarket chains Costco, and Walmart. With over one hundred warehouses across Canada, Costco, a membership-only warehouse club, saw a four percent growth in net sales in 2023.Consumer behavior
Canadian consumers are faced with a wide variety of choices when it comes to where to purchase their groceries. A recent survey on where Canadians regularly purchase food and products for everyday use found that 83 percent of Canadians tend to shop at supermarkets. Despite the current growth in online grocery shopping, only about 14 percent of respondents appear to regularly purchase food and products through this channel. Among these, the preferred channel for online food purchases was third-party grocery delivery services like Instacart.
