Which grocery retailers do Canadian shoppers trust most?

Loblaw-owned Real Canadian Superstore is the most trusted brick-and-mortar grocery brand in Canada, while Walmart is the most trusted for online grocery shopping, according to new research from BrandSpark International.

The findings come from a survey of 5,000 Canadian shoppers who were asked for their unaided, top-of-mind preferences in retail and service categories.

No Frills, also a Loblaw brand, was the second most trusted brick-and-mortar grocer nationally followed by Metro, however the research also found distinct regional preferences. For example, Sobeys is the most trusted brand for Atlantic Canadians while IGA and Maxi brands tied with Quebeckers. Superstore was tops in the west, while No Frills was number one in Ontario.

Real Canadian Superstore does well for a number of reasons and chief among them is the importance of value for money, said Philip Scrutton, BrandSpark’s vice-president of shopper insights.

“We run an annual study of shopper attitudes and the strongest agreement we see is for the statement ‘I feel proud to get great value for my money’ with nine in 10 agreeing,” he said. Most shoppers (70%) make their final purchase decisions in store after seeing weekly deals and 80% regularly read flyers. “Shoppers appreciate regular low prices and love to hunt for the special weekly deals and Real Canadian Superstore delivers both,” he said.

“Real Canadian Superstore also delivers on another key shopper need for convenience, through a large selection and spacious easy to shop locations.”

On top of that, Real Canadian Superstore offers the trusted President's Choice brand and the popular PC Plus program. “PC Plus has grown rapidly and is the grocery loyalty program ‘most valued’ by its members,” he said.

“Excellent quality at excellent prices,” said one long-time Superstore shopper who took part in the BrandSpark survey. “Helpful and caring staff… PC Points Plus has given me $1,000 worth of free groceries this year.”

“They keep their prices reasonable,” said another respondent. “Shelves are always stocked. Their own brands are very good (President's Choice). They have a great loyalty program.”

Real Canadian Superstore was also the second most trusted brand for grocery and fresh food shopping online, behind Walmart. The e-commerce leviathan Amazon was third.

Unsurprisingly, Amazon dominated the e-commerce list, being named the most trusted in 15 of the 23 categories including the Food & Beverage (non-perishable) category. Walmart and Well.ca were second and third in this category.