Strategy fatigue sets in as Canadians dial back grocery cost-cutting

Canadians are scaling back on grocery cost-cutting tactics like coupon use and brand-switching, suggesting a degree of "strategy fatigue" after years of high food prices.

That is according to the fall 2026 edition of the Canadian Food Sentiment Index, produced by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab and supported by Caddle Insights.

"People have adopted an aggressive stance, but they haven't become more aggressive," said Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab.

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Seeking out sales and discounts remains the most common response to high food prices, at 45.5 per cent of respondents. That is up slightly from spring 2026 but below the 48.6 per cent recorded last fall.

However, coupon use has declined from 30.5 per cent in fall 2024 to 20.3 per cent in fall 2026. The share of people who said they shop at cheaper stores fell from nearly 25 per cent to 21 per cent over the same period.

Switching to generic brands dropped from 16.7 per cent to 14.3 per cent, while buying fewer non-essential foods like ice cream fell from 22 per cent to roughly 19 per cent.

Transportation has surged as a financial concern, with 41.2 per cent of Canadians saying it is the expense category that has increased the most over the past 12 months. That is more than double the 20.2 per cent who said so in spring 2026.

"People are feeling pain at the pumps and that's impacting other aspects of their lives, including grocery shopping," said Charlebois. "If they're leaving more money at the gas station, they're showing up at the grocery store with less money in their pockets."

Food remains the expense category most frequently identified by Canadians as having increased the most, at 76 per cent. That is the lowest reading across the five surveys, down from 84.1 per cent in fall 2024.

"When you look at the data, things aren't great, but they're not as bad as they used to be," said Charlebois. "But you can still see that people are overwhelmingly concerned overall."

Affordability remains the top consideration when buying food, at 46.5 per cent, the highest level across the five survey waves. Nutrition declined to 23.9 per cent after peaking at 28.8 per cent in fall 2025.

Preference for local foods remains strong, with 44.4 per cent saying they "always" or "often" buy local, up from 33.5 per cent in fall 2024.

Front-of-pack labels influence choices

Mandatory front-of-pack labels, which call out products high in fat, sugar or sodium, are having a significant influence, the findings suggest.

In fall 2026, 63.4 per cent of Canadians said they are less likely to purchase a product displaying the symbol, unchanged from spring 2026.

"To be honest, I was shocked by the result that we got," said Charlebois. "People are not only noticing, they're influenced. Basically, half of consumers are absolutely influenced by these labels."

He said some food manufacturers are reconsidering product launches that would require the label, and he expects fewer products to carry it in the coming years.

The share of Canadians saying the symbol does not affect their purchasing decisions increased from 22.8 per cent to 25.2 per cent.

The bi-annual index, now in its fifth edition, surveys more than 3,000 respondents every six months to track changes in consumer sentiment.

With files from Canadian Grocer