People shopping for groceries in Quebec, Canada, may want to pay more attention to what appears on their receipts.
A comparison published by MTL Blog tracked the regular shelf prices of the same 11 grocery items at Metro, IGA, and Maxi in Quebec. For that basket, Metro's pre-tax total was almost $35 higher than Maxi's.
Here's what to know
A side-by-side look at regular shelf prices for the same 11 grocery items at Metro, IGA, and Maxi in Quebec found a clear spread between the chains.
Before tax, the basket totaled $124.33 at Maxi, $135.23 at IGA, and $158.69 at Metro.
The items compared were a 23.8-ounce loaf of Pom bread, a 67.6-fluid-ounce carton of Natrel milk, a 1-pound block of Lactantia butter, a pound of chicken breasts, a pound of bananas, a 24-double-roll pack of Cashmere toilet paper, a 15.2-fluid-ounce container of Häagen-Dazs, a pumpkin, an 11.5-ounce frozen Ristorante mozzarella pizza, a 24-pack of Corona, and a 1.06-gallon box of Revolution Red wine.
The reporter, Zeinab El Darwich, collected prices, which are all in Canadian dollars, at one store per chain in Montreal using equivalent items and sizes.
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Many of the sharpest differences appeared on familiar packaged products.
Maxi listed the frozen pizza at $3.47, but IGA and Metro each priced it at $6.49. Lactantia butter cost $6.50 at Maxi, $7.49 at IGA, and $9.79 at Metro.
Seasonal items and alcohol also showed large swings. A 24-pack of Corona was $31.85 at Maxi, $34.46 at IGA, and $43.99 at Metro. A pumpkin was listed at $2 at Maxi, $7.99 at IGA, and $2.99 at Metro.
IGA did beat Maxi on a few items. IGA's Natrel milk was $4.99, compared with $7.25 at Maxi, and the Cashmere Original Soft & Strong 24-double-roll pack was $12.97. IGA's box of Revolution Red was also cheaper than Maxi's, at $37.99 versus $41.99.
El Darwich also said that each store had a different kind of ambience. IGA was the most enjoyable to browse, Metro was particularly straightforward to move through, and Maxi had some empty shelves.
What can be done?
The outcome changed based on the exact mix of products in the cart.
In this test, Maxi's lower prices on bread, butter, chicken, pizza, bananas, and beer outweighed its higher prices on milk and wine.
Loyalty programs changed some item prices without changing the overall result. IGA's Scene+ pricing lowered the toilet paper from $12.97 to $10.97, and Metro's Moi pricing dropped the Revolution Red wine from $52.09 to $49.09. Those discounts narrowed the totals somewhat, but Maxi still had the cheapest basket.
For this mix of staples and extras, Maxi still delivered the lowest total.
Where can I learn more?
Many things can cause grocery bills to go up or down.
• Shoppers are turning to Martie for discount pantry staples online as grocery bills climb.
• In Europe, an ECB review tied surging grocery prices to broader economic pressures.
• In the U.S., wildfire smoke raises livestock costs, pushing grocery prices higher.
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