In early 2015, a Karma member undertook a price comparison for a range of products available at Karma and several other downtown grocers / health food retailers.
Products compared were always the equivalent across each of the stores. So if it was an Organic product at Karma, it was compared with the same Organic version elsewhere. This was also the case for bulk products as well as packaged products (i.e. the same brand and unit size were compared).
Findings:
Karma’s products were priced lower than others’ nearly half the time (48%), and lower than the average price over three quarters of the time. Furthermore, Karma boasts a more extensive bulk section than other comparable stores, including items like dish soap and laundry detergent that other stores do not offer. Karma was also the only location that had a system for, and actively encouraged, customers to bring their own containers. See below for the detailed price comparison chart or download it in PDF here.