More Canadians 'pay later' as grocery prices rise: Report
· Toronto Sun
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Canadians are increasingly using repayment plans as their grocery bills rise, according to a report from a financial services app.
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KOHO ‘s Grocery Gap Report said the monthly amount Canadians are spending on groceries ballooned from $261 to $275 between May 2025 and May 2026, a 5% increase. The adoption of the fintech company’s “pay later” monthly repayment plan more than doubled — from 0.8% of users to 1.7%.
The company also found Canadians are increasingly shopping at discount grocers, such as No Frills and Food Basics.
“One of the most interesting findings is that affordability pressures are changing behaviour, but not always in predictable ways,” said Koho’s head of consumer trust, Faye Lucas. “The findings make it clear that grocery costs are rising faster than Canadians can adapt. People are changing where they shop, how often they go, and how often they pay and yet the spending keeps climbing.”
Grocery trips have become more frequent, and Canadians are buying more when they’re there. The average grocery basket size grew 2.4% from $44.58 to $45.65 per transaction. Trips to the grocery store went up 2.9% from 5.86 trips per month to 6.03 trips per month.
Discount grocers are seeing more traffic as shoppers look for ways to stretch their dollar. The report found Canadians are increasingly visiting stores such as No Frills or Giant Tiger as they weather rising food costs by 4.1%, while visits to premium grocery retailers remain relatively unchanged at 0.3%. Discount basket sizes grew 1.6% as opposed to 0.9% among the premiums.
Food delivery increases
Spending on food delivery has gone up 9% year-over-year from $215 to $235 per month across such platforms as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and SkipTheDishes, according to the report. Spending on eating and drinking out went up 4% and retail spending is up 6%.