Canadians still sticking it to America at the grocery store: report

Tempers have yet to cool as Canadians are still shopping fewer U.S. products at the grocery store—and some appear to be abandoning American retailers as well.  

That’s according to the tenth wave of the dunnhumby Consumer Trends Tracker.

Seventy one per cent of Canadians and 43% of Mexicans plan to purchase fewer American goods in the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war, the report said.

Dunnhumby’s quarterly study also found that 84% of Canadians, 79% of Brazilians, 78% of Chileans, 77% of Mexicans and 76% of Colombians cited the tariffs imposed by the U.S. as the most important factor in their decision. 

The political climate between the U.S. and the respondents’ country was the second most cited reason for the pullback.

Canada and Mexico are the two largest agricultural trading partners of the U.S. 

“Canadians and Latin Americans are shifting their shopping behavior to spend their money where their values align. That has implications for all brands and retailers as they need to truly understand their customers to make sure they are living up to the standards expected of them,” said Matt O’Grady, president of the Americas, dunnhumby, in a press release. 

READ: Why made in Canada brands need to go beyond the label

Meanwhile, U.S. retailers in Canada averaged a 3% drop in sales compared to the ninth wave of the study in December 2024.

Dunnhumby said the decline represents a loss of some 500,000 Canadian households. Canadian discount and mass format chains gained 3% during the same period.

Notably, around 25% of Canadians and Latin Americans said they will cut down on U.S. products permanently.

American shoppers, conversely, exhibit little interest in retaliating against tariffs at the checkout. Instead, 21% of U.S. consumers said they’ll reduce their purchases from China. 

Sixty three per cent of Canadians, 60% of Brazilians, 59% of Colombians, 54% of Mexicans, and 44% of Chileans said they intend to buy more from their own countries. 

Only 30% of Americans agreed with buying more from their own country.

“Although consumers, retailers, and brands are navigating uncertain times, there are concrete steps all can take in the midst of this disruption. For consumers that may mean rapidly changing their behaviors so they protect their wallets, but for retailers and brands it means they should be turning to data insights to determine which strategic actions they need to take to stay ahead,” said “O’Grady.