The latest chapter in the Canadian supermarket food price protest has emerged. And it’s an online news source that’s running it. “Do you have a grocery horror story to share?” Is the new Yahoo! News ‘tip line’ the right way to ‘strike back’?
I’ve been following the ongoing Loblaw’s Boycott protest in this space faithfully, posting updates as new stories emerge. Now, another dimension has been added to the historic standoff, led by Redit thread r/loblawsisoutofcontrol.
A supermarket ‘Crime Stoppers’
Yahoo! News has independently set up an online tip site where anyone with a grocery grievance can report alleged price gouging or other wrongdoing.
It seems Yahoo! is trying to corral angry shoppers’ comments for ease of coverage. But the move will also help ensure that no important stories are missed.
Meanwhile…
Another example of egregious gouging has surfaced. This time it’s not a food item, but a personal necessity, sold both by Loblaw’s stores and it’s Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy chain.
A shopper in Edmonton posted a photo of a ‘sale’ display in a Shopper’s there. The store was offering ‘selected types’ of Dove Vitamin Care + women’s deodorant for ‘just $18.49’.
Commenters had a hay day
Commenters tore into Loblaw’s over the alleged gouge:
“But it’s aluminum-free!”
“ROFL 🤣 We’re now living in a world where taking OUT an ingredient actually costs MORE,” another added.
Fact Check: We’ve already been living in that world for a long time. Manufactures have being pulling this scam for decades. With all kinds of products.
“Even Walmart is crazy now. $7 for the cheapest deodorants they have. I swear they were all like $3 a few years ago,” a poster remarked.
“Costco. Get 6 for $18…” said another.
Price realities
“Who the hell pays more than $5 for a stick of deodorant???” wondered one particularly aggravated poster.
Fact Check: Deodorant prices vary widely by brand and retailer. And by geographical location. Just like Fast Food menu prices. And for many of the same reasons. Several other posters to the Reddit thread contributed that prices in their marks were around $15 for the same product. The price today at my local Loblaw’s is $15.99. Walmart and Amazon are selling the exact same product for $14.99.
Again, it’s the manufacturers who are ‘setting the price’ at their factory gates. To the lady who swore deodorants, “were all like $3 a few years ago,” I can confirm that most women’s deodorants once cost around $3, but not as recently as a few years ago. Maybe back in the 1990s.
But they’ve shot up in price over the past couple of decades. And shrunken from around 120 g to around 80 g in size. It’s a classic case of shrinkflation: Keep the package the same size and reduce the amount of product inside – a few grams at a time, hoping folks don’t notice.
My take
Perhaps the most significant result that can be expected from the new Yahoo! News grocery com-plaints tip site is an increase in open and honest discussion of the issues. I certainly expect to see a major increase in Yahoo! stories on the grocery price situation as a result.
And that will lead to a persistent high profile for the problem. Which will, in turn, ensure that it con-tinues to be top of mind with the ‘powers’ that have the wherewithal to ultimately solve it.
“Do you have a grocery horror story to share?” Surf on over to: canadatips@yahoonews.com.
~ Maggie J.