He writes down the price of all the food he has bought for 10 years

Some collect Star Wars merchandise. Others engage in bird photography. Michel Lapierre, for his part, has been meticulously filling out a database for 10 years by recording the price of all the food he buys at Costco.

“I compare all of this with Metro, Walmart and IGA by reporting the prices per 100 g or per 100 ml. So the format doesn’t matter, ”explains the resident of Saint-Lazare, west of Montreal. He also scans each of his invoices.

As you will have understood, Michel Lapierre is a lover of numbers and statistics, but also of technology. He turns on the lights in his house with his phone. A device under his mattress transmits a series of data on his sleep. The most unknown functions of the iPhone hold no secrets for him. Let’s say that at 76 years old, this retiree with an atypical career has everything to bring down the a priori on the elderly.

In 2011, it was “just out of curiosity” that he began to archive the price of his grocery basket. A decade later, it is to back up his words when it comes to the cost of food, he explains. And, above all, to make informed choices while shopping, since he has access to his data on his phone.

In all, its FileMaker Pro software contains the prices of 5,153 purchases made at Costco, for a total of $ 66,535.37. This represents about 85% of his food purchases in grocery stores.

Thanks to his astonishing discipline, Michel Lapierre is therefore well placed to bear witness to the fluctuation of prices. Of course, the Costco chain is not representative of the market. If only because of the paid membership card which allows the American giant to reduce its profit margin on each item sold. In addition, its reduced range of products (4000) keeps operating costs down. In short, comparisons with other retailers are always tricky. But the evolution of prices within the Costco model can be indicative of trends.

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I wanted to take a look at Michel Lapierre’s data because in recent months, the grocery basket has often made the headlines. According to Statistics Canada, the price of food purchased from stores rose 4.2% in September from the same month in 2020. In August, the increase was 2.6%.

But if I trust the telephone forums on the radio and the comments received in my mailbox, Quebeckers find that the grocery store is experiencing a much larger outbreak. The accuracy of Statistics Canada data has also been questioned by BetterCart Analytics, a Saskatoon-based company that tracks food prices daily on behalf of retailers and processors.

What does Michel Lapierre observe by filling out his database every week? “For me, there is really no significant increase,” replies the one who eats little meat, the food most affected by inflation, it should be noted.

It gives me some loose examples. “For 10 years, the price of Campagnolo bread has not increased by a penny. But last week it went from $ 4.99 to $ 5.49. This product, from Boulangerie St-Method, is sold in bags of two units, the weight of which has not changed.

What about the eggs? The box of 18 sold for $ 3.69 in 2011. The $ 4 mark was crossed during 2020 and the current price is $ 4.59. “It’s only 90 ¢ more in 10 years,” says Michel Lapierre.

As for Heinz ketchup, from 2011 to today, it has gone from $ 6.59 to $ 7.39 (for 2500 ml). It was a bit more expensive in 2018 and 2019 ($ 8.99 and $ 8.49 respectively) than it is today.

The price of a pound of butter is fascinating to watch. In 2012, Costco was selling it for $ 3.79. A pullback was seen in 2014 ($ 2.95) before a slow rally began. In 2019, it cost $ 3.99, roughly the same amount as seven years earlier. Currently, the list price is $ 4.49, an increase of 18% in nearly a decade.

“Bacon is probably the product that fluctuates the most,” notes Michel Lapierre. In 2015, he sometimes paid it $ 10.99, sometimes $ 13.99. In 2017, he happened to pay as little as $ 12.99, but up to $ 19.99, at times. Again this year, the price has often moved. At the maximum, the bill reached $ 24.99 (still for 2000g).

As for Mayan sweet onions, they cost 20 ¢ per 100g in fall 2011. As of 2016: 26 ¢.

With his database, Michel Lapierre also calculates that Costco is 15% cheaper than Walmart, and up to 30% cheaper than IGA and Metro (based on the price per 100 g or 100 ml of products from same brands).

He also knows how often his favorite products go on sale, allowing him to buy exactly the right amount to have enough until the next price drop. When he comes across great deals, he vacuumizes the food and freezes it as needed.

“It’s not an obsession, but I have started and I can’t stop! “

Other tips

There are other ways to control your grocery budget without spending so much time behind your computer. Here are a few.

• Anti-waste applications such as FoodHero (IGA, Metro) and Flashfood (Maxi, Provigo) allow you to buy foods with an approaching expiration date.
• The application Too Good To Go for a few days now has been selling surprise baskets of food “at a third of the retail price of restaurants, bakeries, cafes, grocery stores”. Usually, traders offer a variety of unsold foods throughout the day. Pick-up is done on site at the time mentioned.
• The wholesalers Mayrand and Aubut offer large formats to restaurateurs, are open to the general public, without a membership card.
• The dairy processor Saputo sells some of its products at a discount on the lefrigosaputo.ca website.
• In Laval, Épicerie à bas prix sells unsold items from other businesses and for production purposes. On site or online.
• In Montérégie, Les escomptes St-Jean, also known as Surplus d’Épicerie à la basse prix, sells a wide range of foods whose expiration date is approaching, and whose packaging or aesthetics are lacking.

Read the column “Shopping for groceries can be learned”