Menu prices are certainly trending higher, but they are not rising as much as they should be, according to an article by ATB’s Chief Economist Todd Hirsch.
When you compare the all-items consumer price indexes from 2006 to 2016 values, on average, the cost of consumer goods and services in Alberta has gone up by 22 per cent.
When you look specifically at the prices for food purchased in grocery stores, the index shows consumers are paying an extra 37 per cent today compared to 10 years ago.
READ MORE: How to save money at the grocery store amid high food prices
However, when you compare menu prices in restaurants, those costs are up by only 30 per cent.
Essentially, all items are costing more over the 10-year period in question.
READ MORE: ‘It’s killing me’: Rising cost of food hitting restaurants, impacting menu prices
Groceries are costing more for general consumers and also for restaurants, but when you purchase a meal in a restaurant they have not increased the cost to the consumer at the same rate that grocery prices have inflated.
When asked how restaurants are keeping their costs lower, they have indicated they are substituting less-costly vegetables, reducing serving sizes or offering feature items that might not cost them as much, according to Hirsch.
Comments