Even though we are no longer actively in the pandemic, these grocery delivery and pickup options are still very popular. A lot of local grocery stores are now offering incentives and bonuses for using these services in order to keep up with the usage that they had before.
In Canada, your grocery delivery options will vary depending on where you live. Different provinces and territories are home to different stores, and they don’t all offer grocery delivery services. And even the stores that do offer delivery in your province may not deliver to your specific postal area. So you may have to do some extra digging once, even once you find a store that delivers groceries near you.
That being said, here’s a quick look at some of the most popular and well-known grocery delivery options in Canada—no matter where you live. Because these services are also becoming more popular, you may notice them developing as time goes on.
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National Grocery Delivery Options
An excellent place to start is with some of the bigger retail chains and online Canadian grocery delivery services. The stores and services listed below don’t all deliver to every province or territory in Canada, but combined, they cover most of the country.
The stores listed below are some of the top online grocery retailers in the country. They offer convenient ways for Canadians to get their groceries that work with their schedule.
Not only do they offer delivery and in-store shopping, but they also offer pickup. You can conveniently order everything you need online and then pick it up at a time that works for you. While some stores do charge fees for these services, they are small.
The thing about these services, though, is that they’re easy to access. All of them are available online, but many of them are also available through an app. The main ones are:
- PC Express
- Instacart
- Inabuggy
- Save on Foods
Real Canadian Superstore
Real Canadian Superstore offers grocery delivery services in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Yukon. Delivery fees will vary depending on the size of your order.
The Real Canadian Superstore also offers grocery pick-up services. This means you can order your groceries online, someone at the store will shop for you, and you can simply pick up your order at the store.
Right now, Superstore is making this particular service accessible and also ensuring grocery prices will be the exact same online as in-store.
To see if Superstore’s grocery delivery services are available in your area, click here.
Walmart Canada
In Canada, Walmart offers grocery delivery services in some specific major cities nationwide, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Calgary. There’s a minimum order of $50 before tax and an additional delivery fee of $9.97.
Like Superstore, Walmart Canada also offers grocery pick-up services. There’s still a minimum requirement of $50 for an order, but there are no additional fees when you pick it up at a store near you. To see if Walmart Canada offers grocery delivery services in your area, click here.
Costco
Costco’s grocery delivery services are available for select cities and regions in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Of course, you’ll need an annual Costco membership to take advantage of this service. There’s no minimum order required, and delivery fees are waived on orders over $75 (before taxes).
To see if Costco’s grocery delivery services are available in your area, click here.
Please note: Costco doesn’t deliver perishable foods. And there are wait times of up to a week or more, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead.
Save on Foods
Save on Foods is another grocery store that offers pick-up and delivery services. In order to be eligible for delivery, you do need to verify that your address is in an available area. The cost of delivery depends on your location.
If you choose to go with grocery pickup, the cost depends on the day of the week that you order.
- Monday through Friday, the cost is $1.95.
- On Saturdays and Sundays, the cost is $2,95.
Plus, whether you order for delivery or pickup, the cost of the groceries is the same as if you shopped in-store.
A way you can get your delivery for free, no matter where you live, is to use your points. The minimum amount of points used is 2500, and it just goes up from there. An added bonus is that whether you go with delivery or pickup, you can order your groceries up to 12 days in advance. To see what Save on Foods offers in your area, click here.
Instacart
Instacart is an online service that delivers groceries, including fresh produce, from a wide selection of stores and local businesses across the country. It operates in thousands of cities nationwide, and the selection of stores varies from region to region. Stores range from major retail partners, including:
- Walmart
- Shoppers Drug Mart
- M&M Food Market
- City Market.
Delivery and service fees fluctuate depending on the size of your order and the time you choose for delivery. To streamline your pricing, you can opt for Instacart Express, a subscription-based service that costs $9.99 per month and gives you unlimited grocery deliveries on orders of $35 or more.
The great thing about Instacart is that you essentially have personal shoppers, and you can get what you need delivered directly to your home without worrying about pickup services. It’s often much faster than the services that grocery stores offer internally, and if a substitution is needed, the personalized service is very helpful.
To see what Instacart offers in your area, click here.
PC Express (formerly Click & Collect)
This is another online service that offers grocery delivery services across most of the country, including Yukon and the Northwest Territories. From the PC Express website or app, you can order groceries for delivery from stores like:
- Loblaws
- No Frills
- Valu-Mart
- Superstore
- City Market
- Zehrs
- T&T Supermarket
- and more.
Delivery fees vary depending on your location and order size. You can also opt to pick up your order at a predetermined PC Express location. No matter where you choose, though, you can still earn PCOptimum points and get extra points by signing up for delivery or curbside pickup.
To see if PC Express is available in your area, click here.
Inabuggy
This online service lets you order groceries from a long list of local stores and supermarkets. The list includes major chains such as Walmart and Costco, as well as specialty stores like PetSmart, Healthy Planet, and a range of liquor stores.
The fee for delivery from one store is $19.99, and $9.99 for each additional store on the same delivery order. There are no minimum order values for delivery.
Click here to see what Inabuggy offers in your area.
Sobeys
In select Canadian cities, you can get your grocery orders from Sobeys. For just $9.99 per month, you can purchase the Voila delivery pass, which offers unlimited free monthly deliveries. All you have to do is select your delivery timeline at the time of ordering.
With Sobeys:
- All of their food is guaranteed to be fresh
- You can cancel your order at any time with no penalties
- You get weekly offers to help reduce the overall cost of your grocery order
- You can add items to your order as you notice you’re running low.
The Sobey’s pick-up fee is the same and works the same way.
Amazon
Amazon has embraced the world of online ordering. While you can’t order perishable items with them, you can order your pantry staples, non-perishable baking supplies, and pet supplies. The Amazon Prime delivery timeline for Prime members is also great for ordering snack foods, and the next-day delivery and competitive prices make it a popular choice for consumers.
PC Express Vs. Instacart
With both of these contactless delivery options, there are some positives and negatives. Which one works best for you really depends on where you live and what items you’re looking to purchase.
The great thing about PC Express is that you can choose to have your groceries delivered, or you can schedule a pick-up time that works for you. Either way, it does take a few hours to organize your order before you receive it.
Another reason that many people choose PC Express is that the fees are specific. You don’t need to worry about tipping or any other hidden fees. You can also earn extra PC points just for using PC Express. Plus, if you’re a PC Insider, then you can get your PC Express orders for free.
Instacart also has some great features. It has a flexible, personalized service that allows you to get the items you need without ever leaving your home. That said, though, Instart can be more expensive than PC Express since the fees are less concrete. Another thing about Instacart is that it isn’t as available as PC Express. Only certain areas offer it.
Voila Vs Instacart
You may have heard of Voila before, which is a grocery delivery service available in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Unlike Instacart, this is a direct-to-consumer grocery service. This means that they use they’re own staff and refrigerated truck in order to deliver express delivery on your delivery date.
Due to the fact that they operate like this, they’re also able to give you in-store prices, unlike Instacart delivery. Like Instacart, though, they offer everything from household essentials to organic produce and specialty items. The biggest problem with Voila compared to Instacart is that it isn’t available everywhere.
Instacart Vs Ubereats
Instacart and Uber Eats are very similar services. The main difference is that Instacart delivers groceries, and Uber Eats is a food delivery service that delivers restaurant food as well as some groceries. So, while Uber Eats is still a great delivery service, it won’t get you as much as a dedicated grocery delivery service.
Regional Grocery Delivery Options
Aside from the larger chains and online delivery services outlined above, there are plenty of other stores that offer grocery delivery services in different regions throughout Canada.
Western Canada
In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, one of the more common options for home delivery is Save-On-Foods, which provides both grocery delivery and pick-up services.
Advance delivery fees vary depending on the time slots you choose, while pick-up at the store is free. In B.C. and Alberta, there’s also SPUD.ca, which specializes in local and organic groceries. In Manitoba, Dakota Family Foods and Cantor’s Meats both offer delivery and pick-up services in and around Winnipeg.
Eastern Canada
Residents throughout Ontario can check out Longo’s Grocery Gateway service. There’s a $50 minimum order, and low delivery fees start at around $8, though they vary depending on the time of day you select for your delivery.
In Quebec, there’s a range of choices. Provigo, Metro, and IGA all offer grocery delivery services as well as the option to pick up your order at a store near you.
For those in the Maritimes, there’s:
- Couryah (Nova Scotia)
- Charlottetown Express Delivery (Prince Edward Island)
- Belbin’s Grocery (Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Colemans (Newfoundland and Labrador)
For New Brunswick residents, both Instacart and PC Express offer grocery delivery and pick-up services in select cities.
Northern Canada
For residents of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, grocery delivery options are a little more limited than those elsewhere in Canada.
- In Yellowknife, Instacart offers grocery deliveries for Independent Grocer, Shoppers Drug Mart, and M&M Foods.
- In Whitehorse, both Save-On-Foods and Riverside Grocery offer grocery delivery services.
- In Nunavut, residents can arrange grocery shipments throughout the Baffin region via The Northern Shopper.
If you live in Toronto and are looking for grocery delivery, then you have a few different options. There are the same ones that are available all over the country, like:
- Instacart
- Inabuggy
There are also a few different ones, like:
- Grocery Gateway
- Fresh City Farms
Grocery Gateway
Grocery Gateway is a great option for high-end groceries and adult beverages. The specifics of this service include:
- A $50 minimum order fee
- Same-day delivery if you order before noon
- The delivery of orders in a 90-minute window
- A standard low-fee delivery of $7.99
To see if Grocery Gateway is available in your area, click here
Fresh City Farms
With Fresh City Farms, it’s like having the farmers’ market at your fingertips. They select produce from local vendors and deliver it to you for a low fee. It’s
- It’s only $3 to $3.50 per order
- If the minimum order is $27
- If you order $75 or more, the delivery fee is waived.
When it comes to delivering your groceries, the days you get your order depend on where you live. All orders are delivered between noon and 9 pm, and you don’t need to be home for the order. To see what’s available in your area, click here.
Overall Best Grocery App
When it comes to the best overall grocery app, the consensus based on customer satisfaction is PC Express. It’s easy to use, and it saves your consistent orders, making them easy to find and speeding up your order process. The fees are relatively low, and the pickup and delivery times are very flexible.
Cheapest Online Grocery Shopping
For everyday deliveries, the cheapest is probably Walmart. That said, it’s difficult to determine because most of the deliveries are based on the location, so they’re different for everyone.
Which Ones Offer Free Delivery?
Free delivery isn’t an option unless you use your Save on More points to cover the cost. For the rest, if you’re looking for no fees, it’s best to shop, pick up and meet the minimum order amount. However, there are occasionally promotional periods with other stores in the Canadian market offering exclusive discounts, including free delivery or pick-up. It’s best to keep an eye out for those and sign up if you’re eligible.
The Cost of Grocery Delivery with No Frills
Since No Frills is a Loblaws store, the most common method of delivery is PC Express. You can also use Instacart; however, the cost will depend on which of these two methods you choose. PC Express has its own charges per delivery, and with Instacart, you need to factor in the price as well as the tip.
Should You Use a Grocery Delivery Service?
When it comes to the best grocery delivery services in Canada, you have plenty of options. While there is always a risk of getting the wrong items, it’s a great way to save time and organize your week better, especially since many of these stores are always updating and focusing on their online shopping experience.
Many of these services also have promotions for new customers and even discounts on pickup orders instead of delivery. For your convenience, even warehouse clubs like Costco (Sam’s Club in the US) offer delivery as well, meaning you can even shop in bulk and have the convenience of having the items delivered to your home. Even services like Uber Eats offer this, and you can even get a discount on your first four orders.
Another feature of these delivery services is real-time updates. Even if you’re just looking for pantry items and order in a reasonable time frame, users can create a profile and have the convenience they look for with the quality they want, delivered to their door at the same time. As long as there’s availability, that is.
Final Thoughts
If you’re struggling to find time to buy groceries and are looking for the best options to indulge your dietary restrictions or just get your weekly grocery items, a grocery delivery service may be a good option for you. There are numerous benefits, including low delivery fees, loyalty points, and fast service.
These delivery options are a convenient way for Canadians to get their groceries even when they don’t have time. Before you choose a delivery service, though, it’s important to pay attention to annual fees, other fees, and location. Certain locations don’t have as many other services, such as delivery, available. You should also see if you need to join wholesale clubs in order to be eligible.
No matter which delivery method you choose, the key takeaways are to pay attention to prices and timelines in order to ensure you get the best deal and pay attention to location. Ultimately, though, this increasingly popular service is becoming more accessible every day by allowing customers to save time as well as money.
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