Costco Ranks First in dunnhumby’s Canadian Grocery Retailer Preference Index; Chris Thomson Comments

Costco tops a major study in Canada! dunnhumby, the global leader in customer data science, announced Costco as the top Canadian Grocery Retailer in the dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index (RPI), a nationwide study of the Canadian grocery market that combines retailers financial results with customer perceptions to rank grocers for long-term success. Super C (2), Maxi (3), and Walmart (4) follow as the top four grocers in Canada. All retailers in the index’s top tercile are club, discount, and superstore banners. Conventional grocers, comprising almost 40 percent of the Canadian market, represent the second and third terciles.

The top tercile retailers grew grocery revenue the most over the past five years and have built a competitive edge in overall market share. Retailers with clear and strong customer value propositions—indicated by higher RPI rankings—grew up to 1.5 times faster over the long-term and three times faster in the past year than retailers with lower RPI rankings, according to a press release.

“The impact of customer’s behavioural shift due to inflation are clear to see across the Canadian market,” said Chris Thomson, dunnhumby's Senior Vice President in Canada and the U.S. “For retailers to succeed over the next 12 months, they need to be clear on how their value proposition meets and connects to customers’ evolved needs in a way which matters to them. Change leads to opportunities, and this change in customer behavior presents opportunities for all Canadian grocers, as long as they are also able to change with their customers.”

Key findings from the study include:

• “Saving customers money” (price, promotions, and rewards) is the most important pillar for stronger, long-term market success across Canada. Forty-four percent of a retailer’s long-term success is based on their price, promotions, and rewards proposition, with quality coming in at 31 percent, digital (11 percent), speed and convenience (8 percent), and operations (6 percent) make up the other areas of focus for long-term success
• Value lever importance varies by region, with 48 percent of Ontario-based retailers’ long-term success due to their price, promotions, and rewards proposition, compared to 35 percent for Atlantic based retailers
• Costco’s success is due to its powerful performance across four out of the five pillars, including ranking first for operations nationally. In addition, Costco is moving toward becoming an everyday retailer for customers as it becomes more accessible to customers through third-party delivery channels (Uber Eats and Instacart) and as it increases its presence in Home Meal Replacement (HMR) categories

“The RPI has been a core report for retailers across the U.S. for the last eight years, playing a fundamental role in helping grocers focus their value propositions on the needs of the customer. The Canadian RPI can play a similarly pivotal role in the Canadian grocery industry, supporting retailers to capitalize on opportunities driven by change and even help conventional grocers do something more unconventional to meet changing needs,” said Thomson.

For more from the press release, click here.

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