Health and beauty and prices are climbing again, according to the latest Canadian Price Pulse data from insights firm, Numerator. Recent data for the four-week period ending on Nov. 3 – a calculation of average price per item compared to one year-ago – reveals that health and beauty sector prices were up nearly 10% versus November 2023 levels.
Average health and beauty price-per-item was also up week-over-week, part of a trend of gradually moving higher after seemingly plateauing in the summer, when prices moved up only 2% from the year prior.
Average price per pet product was down 1.41% versus a year ago, but still increased against the prior week. Since flatlining early in 2024, average price per item for pet products has shown a lot of volatility, spiking in June and then falling into negative territory in September. The trend line appears to show consumers can expect price hikes shortly.
Grocery prices are up 2.63%, an increase compared to the prior week. The increase in grocery inflation is driven in part by higher snack prices up 13% versus the year prior, according to Numerator. Packaged baked goods are also up more than 9% versus the same period last November.
In the most recent week, the rate of grocery inflation has increased across all generations, ethnic groups and income levels. However, middle income earners (household incomes of between $40K and $80K) are seeing higher than normal increases year over year (4.11%).
Numerator numbers also reveal that online grocery inflation has reached its highest point since March of 2023, up nearly 26%.
Finally, gas and convenience grocery inflation has decreased over the past few weeks, but remains elevated compared to other retail channels.
