If we needed more, harder evidence that food prices at the Big 5 supermarket chains could be significantly lower, we now have it. And it comes in a ‘State of the Boycott’, ‘man on the net’ story from Yahoo! News…
Loblaw’s Boycotters found much lower prices on the exact same products at Walmart.
And better quality products at lower prices at independent local businesses…
My attention was skewered by the Yahoo! headline: ‘These Canadian shoppers say they’re done with the grocery giant forever’.
Really? That’s a great grabber of a headline. But does the story it tops deliver what the banner promises? Who couldn’t resist reading on to find out…
‘Man on the street’
That was the formal term for what we in the biz simply called ‘streeters’, back in the day. You know the drill… A reporter literally stands on the sidewalk and asks passersby the ‘question of the day’. Back at the newsroom, they assemble the best of the comments in a series of jump-cut clips that allegedly capture the mood of the masses.
And the results can be eye-popping.
Yahoo! digs deeper
Toronto-based Yahoo! correspondent decided to follow up with half a dozen members of the r/loblawsisoutofcontrol Reddit group on their experiences during the ongoing Loblaw’s boycott.
The overall message was, they tried other grocery sources over the initial month of the Boycott, and they’re not going back to Loblaw’s.
What they found
I present, for your assessment, some of the choice comments from ‘incensed’, ‘fed up’ former Loblaw’s customers…
Erin
A 46-year-old social worker who lives alone in Campbell River, B.C.
“I just did a big grocery shop because I just moved […] If I had gone to Superstore, it would have been close to $1,000, but at Walmart it was $400. I was shocked. I don’t think I’ll ever go back.”
Melanie
A 61-year-old retiree who lives alone in Winnipeg, Manitoba
It was actually back near the end of last year that I blew off Superstore. I did up a cart and thought ‘Geez that’s rather high.’ I did a matching cart at Walmart and Walmart won. I did it once more after the new year and same thing. I haven’t given [Loblaw’s] anything since.
Suzanne
A 63-year-old retired lawyer who lives alone in London, Ontario
“I have saved in excess of $400 this month alone and will continue to shop at the London food co-op. London has a few independent markets…
“I go to a butcher shop run by one guy who learned the business in his country of origin, Hungary. He sells beautiful bacon. For $8.99/lb., you get actual fresh, thick cut bacon. At Loblaw’s and its affiliates, you’d pay $14 for a package of whisper thin fat with very little meat on it.
“I spend much less [at the butcher shop] for better quality food, and I’m supporting a small business. For produce, I use a delivery service where a $40 box will feed two households — mine and my neighbour’s — for roughly a week.”
Rick
A 69-year-old who lives in St. Johns, Newfoundland, with his wife and adult son.
“I’ve been using local markets, butchers, bakers, farmers markets, Walmart and Costco. I moved my prescriptions to Costco and found big savings.”
PJ
A 65-year-old customer service associate who lives alone in Victoria, B.C.
“I’m choosing to keep boycotting for purely selfish reasons: More money in my bank account at the end of the month. I don’t see this as anything but a permanent boycott. Once you’ve altered your routine and learned a new store layout, once you’ve brought home produce that costs 30 per cent less and it lasts a week in the fridge, why would anyone go back [to Loblaws]? Only a masochist would.”
My take
“You don’t know what you’re missing!” might be the popular phrase that best sums up the message from former Loblaw’s shoppers who supported the Boycott, and learned there’s a whole other world of grocery shopping out there.
My reaction is simple and straightforward: “If Walmart can sell the same groceries for $400 that Loblaw’s sells for $1,000, why can’t Loblaw’s? And the other big supermarket chains?”
Contrast this revelation with the recent disclosure that Loblaw’s profits increased a fat 10 percent last year. While food prices that continued to rise through the year, and growing millions of folks struggled to feed their families on budgets with decreasing buying power.
I’ve said it before. But I’ve never been more adamant about it than now: Loblaw’s and the other members of the supermarket cartel needed to step up and take responsibility for the social and economic damage they’re causing by pushing for greater and greater profits, quarter after quarter.
The Big 5 literally own the supermarket industry, on which millions of folks rely to provide their sustenance. With ownership comes responsibility.
~ Maggie J.