Canadian parents prefer Walmart for in-person back-to-school shopping: survey
Walmart is the top pick for Canadian parents this year when it comes to buying back-to-school supplies.
The retailer came out on top of Field Agent’s Back to School 2024 Canadian Shopper Survey when it came to in-person shopping.
Ninety one per cent of Canadians plan to buy supplies at Walmart, followed by Dollarama (66%), Costco (59%) and Superstore (46%). Dollar Tree, Giant Tiger and Shoppers Drug Mart also made the list at 31%, 25% and 23%, respectively.
Amazon was the top choice for online shopping (78%), followed by Walmart (31%).
As for meal planning, the majority of Canadians plan to send their children off to school with packed lunches and snacks from home (96%).
The majority of respondents plan to shop for back-to-school groceries at Walmart (63%), Costco (55%) and Real Canadian Superstore (52%).
Other stores to make the list include No Frills/Maxi (32%), Sobeys/Safety/IGA/Thrifty Foods (23%), FreshCo (23%), Loblaw Market Division (23%), Amazon (21%), Food Basics/Super C (19%), Dollarama (18%), Giant Tiger (15%), Save-On-Foods (13%), Metro (11%), Dollar Tree (6%), Co-op (6%), Foodland (3%), Longo’s (2%) and Whole Foods (2%).
Parents say they’re most likely to fill packed lunches with fresh fruit (87%), water (79%), granola/protein bars (77%), a sandwich or wrap with meat (72%), crackers/cheese/meal kits (70%), packaged baked goods (62%), salty snacks (55%) and juice (54%).
Other choices include dairy-based foods (45%), a sandwich or wrap without meat (38%), packaged fruit (35%), dried fruit (34%), candy or chocolate (30%), milk (23%), nuts or nut-based foods (21%), canned soups (13%) and soda (8%).
In terms of supplies, footwear came out on top (91%), followed by basic school supplies (87%), clothes (84%), food for packed lunches (81%), backpacks (71%), hand sanitizer (28%), electronics (28%), athletic equipment (27%), medications/vitamins (27%) and additional home storage (15%).
Forty two per cent of Canadians expect to spend more compared to last year, while 39% expect to spend the same amount and 20% expect to spend less.
Seventy three per cent say they think inflation will have an impact on the cost of school supplies.
The majority of Canadians plan to shop around the same time as last year (45%) or earlier (43%).
