These grocery stores in Ontario were ranked as the retailers people avoid shopping at

"I like them all, but unfortunately can't afford some."

person in produce section of sobeys grocery store. right: entrance of loblaws grocery store

Sobeys store. Right: Loblaws store.

Photokvu | Dreamstime, Erman Gunes | Dreamstime
Senior Writer

Shoppers have revealed the grocery stores in Canada that they "hate" and don't like shopping at because prices are "too expensive."

But Narcity wanted to find out which places in Ontario people avoid when buying groceries.

So, we recently posted on Facebook and asked, "What grocery stores in Ontario do you avoid shopping at?"

There have been almost 200 comments and 20 retailers named, including national and local chains.

With the price of groceries these days, you might not expect discount retailers to be in this ranking, but quite a few made the list.

Here are the top three grocery stores in Ontario that shoppers avoid:

  1. Loblaws
  2. Walmart
  3. Sobeys

Many people told Narcity they don't shop at Loblaws and Sobeys stores because prices are expensive.

Some shoppers said that even Walmart is getting pricey now, while one person said they avoid the store because there's "no price matching."

After those top retailers, Metro is fourth, and No Frills is fifth in this ranking.

One person commented that prices at No Frills are higher than Walmart and "the quality isn't that great."

Then, Foodland is sixth, Real Canadian Superstore and FreshCo are tied for seventh, Food Basics and Zehrs are tied for eighth, Farm Boy is ninth, and Costco and Your Independent Grocer are tied for tenth.

Someone told Narcity that Costco is the store they avoid shopping at because all of the products are bulk-sized.

Whole Foods, Giant Tiger, Longo's, Fortinos, IGA, Adonis and Highland Farms only got a couple of mentions as the stores shoppers won't get their groceries from.

Quite a few shoppers said they avoid most grocery stores in Ontario because of prices. Someone even commented that "all" grocery stores are "unaffordable."

"I like them all, but unfortunately can't afford some," another Ontarian told Narcity.

Some of the Ontario retailers on this ranking, like Metro, Farm Boy, Food Basics, Longo's and Fortinos, also made the lists of stores Canadians hate and don't shop at because of high prices.

READ NEXT: Canada's most expensive grocery stores were ranked and this chain beat Loblaws

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Senior Writer

    Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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