GroceryPulse research
What the CGPI measures, and what it does not
A weekly grocery-price index for Canada: how to read the number, what it can support, and the limits we publish alongside it.
Prices and the index answer different questions.
A basket total in dollars helps compare the cost of products between stores. An index measures how prices change relative to a reference period. A higher index does not necessarily mean one city costs more than another.
The basket is a fixed selection of everyday products. It does not describe every household's shopping list, and advertised website prices can differ from prices paid at checkout.
The method stays public.
The basket, product-matching rules, treatment of missing prices, and measurement limits are documented. Index series and their current movements are part of the licensed data product.
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