‘Never pay full price’: Tens of thousands follow Edmontonian’s grocery sale reports

One man from Wetaskiwin has made it his mission to find the best meat deals around to prevent people from paying full price. Jeremy Thompson reports.

A former grocery store meat department supervisor is helping Albertans find the best deals on meat and more.

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Every Wednesday, Billy Demers in Edmonton rises at 6 a.m. For almost the full day – he stops to take a nap – he combs through digital flyers to find the best sale prices taking effect the next day, compiling a report to publish to nearly 60,000 followers to his Facebook page, Demers Meat Deals and More.

He’s been doing this for years for family and friends, but his daughter helped him reach a wider audience on social media starting in 2022.

“Before you knew it, it grew to 3,000, 4,000,” he recalled in a recent interview with CTV News Edmonton. “Since then, it’s taken off.”

His reports consist of a three-star rating system for the week’s best deals, plus honourable mentions. He will also point out particularly bad prices, which he says are “not right.”

Demers, now retired, is happy to continue to put his knowledge to work and help others.

He says it’s possible to save up to 30 per cent on a grocery bill by shopping the sales.

“An adage of mine is, ‘Never pay regular price for anything,’” Demers said. “I hate to see people pay a regular price.”

With meat and grocery prices expected to rise further, he hopes more Albertans begin sale shopping.

Already, the Facebook page has expanded to the point where Demers has had to bring on help and has been occasionally able to strike deals with grocery stores specifically for his followers.

“When I go to bed Tuesday night… I’m a little excited. I wonder what these guys have on sale this week,” Demers said. “Even though it’s time consuming, it’s enjoyable.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson