Customers say they are running far, far away from Loblaw stores this month.

May 13, 2024

A look at a grocery bill today is enough to get anyone’s blood boiling. So some consumers have said enough and are pushing back against high grocery prices in a boycott against Loblaw.

But are Loblaws’ prices as bad as we think they are?

To get to the bottom of the mystery, we’ve decided to dig up some old grocery flyers from 1980 — including from Loblaws itself — to see if the prices back then are any better than what they are today. The results might shock you. Why 1980?

Well, right around 1980, there was a similar inflationary squeeze putting a strain on people’s budgets.

To help us, we’ve dug up flyers that were in effect from Wednesday, April 30-Tuesday, May 6, 1980 as well as flyers in effect from Thursday May 2-Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

We looked at similar items that were advertised back then and today and used the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator to help us determine what the prices would be in today’s dollars.

Loblaws vs. Loblaws

• Peanut Butter: A 500g jar of peanut butter was $1.19 in 1980. Adjusted to today’s dollars that’s about $4.46. Today you can pick up 750g of peanut butter for $6.49. Gram for gram, Loblaws price today is a hair cheaper, but note that the 1980 peanut butter is “natural.”

• Ground Beef: Lean ground beef was $1.98 per pound in 1980, which adjusts to $7.43 in today’s dollars. That’s very close to Loblaws’ 2024 price of $7.49 per pound.

• Tampons: A box of 40 tampons was $2.79 in 1980, adjusting to $10.47 today, while a box of 50 Tampax Pearl Regular tampons is $13.99. That’s effectively the same price per tampon.

• Bread: In 1980, Loblaws sold bread for $0.75, which adjusts to about $2.80 today. Currently, D’Italiano bread is priced at $3.99 each. ($3.50 if you buy two or more) Dominion bested them both, though. It sold Dempster’s for what’s effectively $2.21 today.

So head-to-head with its former prices back in 1980, Loblaws today wasn’t significantly cheaper in a single instance. Some items have remained stable while others have increased significantly. 

This story is a revised version of an article that originally appeared in Vital Signs.

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