"How did ham get so expensive": People are losing it over these grocery price comparisons from five years ago

Anyone living in Canada knows the pain of grocery shopping.

Over the last few years, heading to the big retailers has often meant seeing skyrocketing prices and high price tags, even for the most basic items.

In a Reddit post to the new online community, “Loblaws is out of control,” one user, Prolific-Failure, took Loblaws sale flyer prices from 2019 and compared them to sale prices for the same items in 2024, and it’s enough to make you weep.

Examples include Philidelphia cream cheese, which was on offer with two 227-gram tubs for $5 five years ago. However, the exact same item is now $4.75 per tub if the customer is buying more than one.

Price comparison between a 2019 flyer and today’s sales.
byu/Prolific-Failure inloblawsisoutofcontrol

There were plenty of other examples, with drinks like Coca-Cola, bags of sugar, and chips all subject to rising costs over the years.

One of the most eye-watering differences spotted was for a pack of 600 grams of ham. Back in 2019, the sale flyer listed the ham as $7.99. For the same product in 2024, Canadians would be looking to pay $14.99, meaning the price has almost doubled.

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Snack lovers will have noticed a trend with chip prices increasing, too. The post showed that two bags of Ruffles or Doritos in 2019 would have set shoppers back around $6 during the sale. Now, the price for the same chips would come in at $8.

Many Canadians couldn’t quite believe how much the prices had shot up in five years.

Comment
byu/Prolific-Failure from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

Comment
byu/Prolific-Failure from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

The post left many Canadians pining for the good old days, when grocery prices seemed a lot more reasonable.

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byu/Prolific-Failure from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

Others noted that while the price for many of these products has gone up significantly, Canadians also have to contend with “shrinkflation,” with some items, such as bags of chips, reducing in size.

Comment
byu/Prolific-Failure from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

While it doesn’t look like high grocery prices are going anywhere, at least Loblaws recently backtracked on its decision to scrap its 50% discounts on nearly expired items.