Et voilà! Sobeys’ new delivery service, Voilà, has been buying up some serious radio media in Toronto over the last several weeks. The retailer made an even bigger push this most recent week (ended Aug. 9), booking 1,032 ads for the week and becoming the top buyer in the area.

It knocked last week’s first-place finisher Public Mobile into second, with 1,002 ads.

The top-five was rounded out by Sleep Country Canada, the Government of Ontario (which, after taking its foot off the gas on radio buys for several weeks, shot back up with 931 ads) and Belairdirect.

Most categories in Toronto were red-hot for the week. Business and consumer services increased their collective buy to 2,685, topping the charts for the week. But other big increases came from insurance providers (up 22% to 2,026), government and unions (nearly doubled to 1,585), wireless carriers (up 23% to 1,579), QSR (up 41% to 1,413), domestic factory autos (up 35% to 1,168) and diagnostic and medical services (up 33% to 979). Public services and bedding retail/manufacturers also saw modest boosts, and finance slowed down (although it remained in second place with 2,213 total ads).

Still, Montreal remains tepid, as its rise to pre-COVID normalcy has not been as meteoric as Toronto.

The Quebec government’s ad buy decreased to 947 ads, a drop of just under 200. It remained on top, however, while Consolidated Credit stayed steady in second place with 426 ads. New buyer Hyundai purchased 368 ads, while CTV increased its buy ever-so-slightly to 364. Another new buyer, Esso-Mobil, rounded out the top-five at 359 ads.

Most of the major categories in Montreal saw moderate decreases, including the top category of government and unions. Finance also dialled back slightly, as did bedding and business and consumer services.

Public service, television and cable TV, as well as insurance providers, saw modest increases. However, Asian factory autos more-than doubled (370 ads, up from 153), while the gasoline category entered the charts with 359 ads.