Bellingham busy with Metro Vancouver cross-border shoppers

When you factor in the cost of driving, the exchange rate, and inflation, is it still worth it for Metro Vancouverites to dip down across the border to shop for groceries in Washington state?

It turns out, that is not necessarily an easy question to answer, considering all the factors you need to consider in the decision to go down.

Personal exemptions, limits, and duties when returning to Canada notwithstanding, if you do a direct comparison of grocery prices, you can easily find less expensive options in the U.S., especially for pre-packaged foods and beverages.

For fresh items, the price of a pound of lean ground beef across the border at the Sunset Drive Safeway in Bellingham, for example, is currently available at $5 USD.

A flyer from a U.S. Safeway shows the price of various grocery items, including ground beef.

That works out to around $6.30 CAD, about 70-cents cheaper than a pound of lean ground beef at Lower Mainland Real Canadian Superstores.

What about the U.S. cheese we Canadians love to snap up?

Safeway flyers list two pounds of premium Tillamook cheese on sale for $5.99 USD. That converts to roughly $7.50 CAD per kilogram, a great deal, when you compare it to the price of Armstrong cheese on this side of the border.

A flyer from a U.S. Safeway shows the price of various dairy products.

Depending on the item, produce prices vary from slightly less to slightly more expensive at the Bellingham store compared to Lower Mainland prices.

Cross-border demand remains, says Bellingham CoC CEO

The head of Bellingham’s chamber of commerce says he’s still seeing plenty of Canadian license plates in local store parking lots, and even if some prices are fluctuating at grocery stores, he argues it is not just about the price.

“Of course, that purchase decision — that consumer’s decision — will have to be made by everyone as an individual,” said Guy Occhiogrosso, president and CEO of the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“What we have seen — and this is over decades — is the macro reasons, the big picture, that we see so many Canadian shoppers is more than just a price point. There is an availability component.”

Occhiogrosso says local businesses and their Canadian customers are accustomed to prices being “in flux” because of fluctuations in the currency exchange rate.

“I don’t know if it’s enough of a deterrent to persuade Canadians to not shop. Particularly because what we see is a lot of those purchases are correlated with other retail spending. There’s still that variety of goods that are available here in Whatcom county comparatively, with stores and certain items that are available here that just aren’t in Canada. You’re also looking at sales tax differences. There are a number of different elements,” he told CityNews.

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“Would I think that Canadians may diminish their demand over just shopping for certain groceries? I would be curious to know if it’s more about how far their dollar goes, and they have to buy gas, versus our prices being more expensive. I think it’s a complicated equation.”

Looking at gas, you can find the equivalent of a $1.75 CAD per litre in Blaine, Washington as of Wednesday morning. However, the overall high cost of driving from Metro Vancouver, across the border to get gas and groceries, as Ochigrosso points out, might erase potential savings for many Canadians.

So is it worth it to make the trip?

“I think so,” argued Occhiogrosso.

But it might depend on the products you are shopping for and the deals you find.