Monthly average retail prices for selected products, January 2024

Information on average prices

The data source for the "Monthly average retail prices for selected products" table (18-10-0245-01) is scanner data (also known as transaction or point-of-sale data) obtained directly from Canadian retailers. Transaction data provide a comprehensive electronic record of the transactions made through a retailer's point-of-sale system and contain relevant pricing information, such as product descriptions and quantities sold. The use of transaction data for the calculation of the average prices in this table offers a significant quality advantage, given the number of product prices available in the transaction data and coverage in terms of geography and pricing weeks.

The products listed in table 18-10-0245-01 are items commonly purchased by Canadian consumers. As consumer preference changes, the contents of the table will be updated. The products listed in this table do not represent an exhaustive list of products used in the calculation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). A list of the representative products of goods and services in the CPI basket is available on the Statistics Canada website.

Users should exercise caution when comparing average prices over time. Factors such as product rotation, quality and quantity changes, and shifting consumer preferences can contribute to price differences from one month to another. To measure pure price change, otherwise known as inflation, it is recommended to use the CPI and its sub-indexes (table 18-10-0004-01), which controls for these factors by reflecting price change only for the same or comparable item in the same outlet. Although average prices provide a complementary picture of consumer prices, they are not comparable with the pure price changes calculated in the CPI because of methodological differences. They also do not contain all the same products and may contain different product definitions.

The method that Statistics Canada uses to measure and publish monthly food inflation in the CPI has not changed.

Product definition

Average prices are derived in one of two ways: using a specific size or quantity measure or standardizing multiple sizes.

Specific size: In most cases, a specific size or quantity can easily be the measure of best fit for a particular product. Some products are most often purchased in a specific size or quantity (for example, a dozen eggs). Other products have multiple high-sale sizes over a large range (for example, milk). In this case, we calculate separate average prices for each size (1 L, 2 L and 4 L) to provide a more complete picture. Other products, such as fresh produce and meats, are often sold by weight and priced per kilogram. In these cases, 1 kg is applied as the specific size. These products are then standardized to ensure that the price per one kilogram is included in the average price calculation. The specific size alone provides sufficient coverage to produce a reliable measure.

Standardized size: For certain products that are available to consumers in a wide variety of package sizes, prices for products within a set range of package sizes are standardized before the average price calculation. For example, prices for blocks of cheese ranging in size from 400 g to 800 g are adjusted to represent a 500 g block of cheese and are presented as such in the average prices table.

For more information on the calculation of the average prices in the "Monthly average retail prices for selected products" table, consult the "Methodological Supplement for the Monthly Average Retail Prices Table," published as part of the Prices Analytical Series (Catalogue number62F0014M).

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Next release

The next update of the "Monthly average retail prices for selected products" table will be in April.