Global Shopping Insights Report: Canada 🇨🇦

Battle of the drinks: juice or water?

In Canada, juice is chosen more often than water, with 35% more additions of juice to shopping lists compared to water.

Water is more frequently planned for purchase by Italians, Americans, and Brazilians, while juice is preferred by the French, Swedes, and Norwegians.

Which country likes Nutella the most?

Canada, with a score of 0.11%, ranked last, 12th, in the share of Nutella in the sweet and savory snacks category. On the opposite end, France and Germany led the ranking, where Nutella accounted for over 6% of shopping lists.

"shopping", Walmart or Costco? Most common shopping list names

Among all the analyzed phrases, the most popular in Canadian shopping list titles was "new list," appearing in about 6.59% of lists. The retailer Costco also enjoyed significant popularity, featuring in 4.61% of list titles, making it not only the top retailer in Canada but also surpassing its presence in the U.S., where it appeared in 1.92% of list titles.

In total, Canadians included retailer names in just under 7% of shopping list titles, ranking fifth among the 12 analyzed countries. Higher percentages were recorded in countries like Poland (9.11%) and the U.S. (9.87%).

Who’s behind the shopping list?

In Canada, 10.66% of active shopping lists from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, were shared with at least one person. This result is not only below the global average but also one of the lowest among all analyzed countries. Only Americans, Brits, and Brazilians had lower list-sharing rates. Danes and Poles were the most frequent users of the list-sharing feature.

The list-sharing rate may reflect how citizens of a given country share the responsibility of household shopping.

Hot categories

The most popular product category on shopping lists across all analyzed countries is fruits and vegetables. In Canada, this category accounts for 20.21%, which is higher than the global average of 18.57% and the second-highest among the analyzed countries. The only country with a higher share is Poland, where the category reached 22.86%.

Shopper favorites

Milk, eggs, bread, and bananas are the most frequently added products to shopping lists in Canada. Bananas, ranked fourth, reached the highest score among analyzed countries, along with the USA.

Canadian shopping lists also stand out for the high ranking of cucumbers. Only in Norway and Denmark were cucumbers ranked higher, taking fourth place.

Who shops like a pro?

In Canada, 57.4% of items on shopping lists were marked as purchased after being added. This result is slightly higher than the global average and ranks Canada seventh out of the 12 analyzed countries.

The lowest rates were recorded in the United States (47.3%) and Brazil (48.51%).

Factors such as store availability and product offerings may influence the rate of items being marked as purchased.

Sweet tooth or snack attack?

Canadians prefer chips over chocolate, with a 57% difference in favor of chips when it comes to additions to shopping lists.

Similarly, Swedes, Danes, and Americans also choose chips more frequently, while chocolate is more commonly added to shopping lists in France, Poland, and Spain.

Loved in Canada

The Dr. Oetker brand, known for its baking products, enjoys significant trust among Canadians. Its products accounted for 6.78% of all items in the cakes, desserts, and additives category, making it one of the highest brand shares in the analyzed countries.

Choosing specific products, such as "Dr. Oetker mousse," indicates brand loyalty and careful product selection, which is especially important on shared shopping lists.

English or french, please!

In Canada, 84.88% of shopping lists created between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, were in English or French, placing Canada 4th among the 12 analyzed countries.

The lowest share of the primary language was recorded in the United States, where despite about 78.3% of residents speaking only English at home (according to American Community Survey data from 2018-2022), only 46.74% of shopping lists in the Listonic app were created in English.

Poland had the highest result (96.09%), followed by Norway (89.24%).

Shopping speed champions

Canadians rank ninth out of 12 countries in the list of nations that most quickly move from adding a product to their shopping list to marking it as purchased. The average time for this process in Canada is 135 hours (just over 5 days).

Danes complete their shopping lists the fastest (58 hours), while Brazilians take the longest (172 hours).

Various factors, such as shopping frequency and the availability of groceries, may influence these results.

The country of ultimate organizers

Canadians used the Listonic app an average of 4.01 times per week, placing them in the lower half of the rankings among the analyzed countries. The French used the app most frequently (4.6 times/week), while Brazilians used it the least (2.67 times/week). The global average is 3.93 visits per week.

Most Canadian users (31.42%) used the app once a week, while the second-largest group (27.42%) planned their shopping in the app 4 to 10 times per week.