Calgary and Edmonton grocery stores are becoming smaller as developers seek to complete projects faster to meet rapidly growing demand, says Avison Young.

As Calgary and Edmonton continue to grow, the demand for grocery retail space has outpaced supply, creating a gap in meeting consumer needs, says the global commercial real estate advisor in a pair of data releases on the two cities. In response, retailers are accelerating the development of smaller, more compact grocery stores to serve these growing urban populations.

Store sizes are shrinking even as even as both cities experience rapid population increases.

In both cities, the amount of grocery store space available per person has steadily declined over the past two decades. in Calgary, grocery store space per capita has dropped to 2.5 square feet from 3.5 sf. In Edmonton, space per capita has dropped 2.3 sf from an even three sf.

The average size of newly built grocery stores has seen a significant reduction 41,000 sf today from 62,000 sf in the early 2000s.

This shift is largely driven by the rise of high-density neighbourhoods and evolving consumer preferences, which favour accessibility and convenience over sprawling store layouts, according to Avison Young.

The trend is expected to continue as cities adapt to changing retail dynamics and consumer expectations.

Avison Young’s findings come as Loblaw, Canada’s largest grocery and pharmacy retailer, is preparing to invest $2 billion in 80 new, primarily stores, in 2025.

Meanwhile, Calgary Co-op, a dominant player in the city’s grocery market, is developing a smaller-format store spanning 24,000as part of multi-family housing development in the city’s Marda Loop area.

Pictured: Future small-format Calgary Co-op grocery store in the city’s Marda Loop area.

Rendering: Calgary Co-op