Grocery shopping shouldn’t be scary.
You walk into the grocery store already anxious about how much you’ll pay when you walk out. Prices keep going up and that’s worrying. To make matters worse, store owners and the food industry use a ton of terrifying business practices to get you to make impulse buys and fill your cart with things you don’t need. No wonder you feel trapped, you don’t have any choice but to eat.
Find out how to identify and avoid these practices, because grocery shopping shouldn’t be scary for anyone.
1. Discounts for multiple purchases
This strategy encourages you to buy more units in order to get the advertised discount.
What you should know:You don’t always have to buy more than one unit to get the advertised discount. Check the information on the price label:
- If all it says $2/$5, you don’t necessarily have to buy 2 to get the discount. You could choose to buy 1 for $2.50.
- If it says $2/5, or $2.99 if you buy 1 (or per unit), you have to buy the quantity indicated to get the discount.
Be watchful! Often, it’s the discount for multiple purchases that’s promoted. Read the price label carefully to avoid unpleasant surprises at checkout.
Option consommateurs is currently advocating for better price display management to make it easier for consumers to see the price per unit.
BEWARE OF WASTE! This type of discount is often offered on perishable products, so if you wind up throwing some out, you’ll lose more than you saved.
2. Strategic placement of items in store
The placement of each grocery item is designed to increase the price of your shopping basket.
Think, for example, of certain cereals that are positioned at children's eye level to attract them and encourage their parents to buy them, or bakery products that are placed at the beginning of the aisle and whose smell whets the appetite for the rest of the shopping trip.
Also, you probably know where the items you want are located and the fastest way to get to them before you even walk through the doors. Retailers are aware of this and try to shuffle the cards by occasionally moving certain items, forcing you to spend more time in store and walk through sections you wouldn’t normally.
What you should know:Aisle ends are highly coveted by suppliers who pay a premium to have their products placed there, since end-of-aisle traffic is higher than in-aisle traffic.
+ time in store = + items in your cart = + money spent
3. Flyers and displays
Did you know that items in flyers aren’t necessarily on sale?
Checking flyers is definitely an excellent way to plan meals around discounted products. But once again, you need to be alert.
What you should know about flyers:- Cover pages (front and back): This is where the best deals are.
- Inside pages: These items may be on sale or they may be regularly priced. BEWARE of prices in large type, bright colours, text boxes or the like. This is a strategy to draw your attention and doesn’t guarantee a good deal (or any deal at all, for that matter).
What you should know about displays: Special displays are often paid for by the suppliers themselves. They’re a promotional tool used to catch the eye with attractive colours and builds. Like the items in flyers, those on displays aren’t necessarily on sale. A display can be used to create interest and generate purchases at the regular price.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT ONLINE! Grocery store websites are also designed to attract your attention to certain products, on sale or not. Product order, web banners and contests should be carefully considered.
4. Loyalty cards and points cards
When a product is free, it’s because you’re the product! Did you know that you provide a lot of personal data in exchange for personalized offers?
The information gathered by these programs is intended to help us get to know you better, so that we can make you offers that match your habits and tastes. It's up to you to decide whether these offers are attractive enough to justify sharing your personal data!
What you should know:Instant discounts… for only certain customers. This is a fairly recent tactic that consists of offering instant discounts to those who have the loyalty card or points card for the chain in question. Many consumers feel lost when they see these new labels, which can show a regular price, a special price for all and a special price for card holders. Pay close attention to this in store and online!
Beware of bonus points! Promotions that provide more bonus points when you buy certain items (per unit or for a certain quantity) may be attractive, but remember that it’s not necessarily a good deal if you buy more than you need or something you don’t need at all!
5. Smaller format for the same price (shrinkflation)
You've probably already noticed that the size of your usual orange juice or your favorite cookies has shrunk, but the price has stayed the same.
This is known as reduction. It's actually a price increase, since you're offered a smaller quantity of the same product for the same price.
What you should know:Manufacturers don’t announce these changes, they often make them without consumers realizing it right away. A good way to compare is to go by price per unit of measure, e.g. per 100 millilitres (mL) or per 100 grams (g). This information can generally be found on the price label (mandatory in Québec). You can also check the price per unit of measure for the same product sold in a different form, e.g. the container of cream cheese may have been reduced to 227 grams, but the block of cream cheese may still be 250 grams for the same price.
Pro tip: In some cases, you might want to compare in another way than price per millilitre or per gram. A good example is laundry detergent. Does a big bottle really allow you to wash more loads or is it just more diluted? Comparing the price per load makes more sense for this type of product.
LEGAL OR NOT?
Though many consumers object to this practice, it’s not illegal, as long as the right price appears on the label.
Option consommateurs would still like to see more transparency on the part of the industry in order to ensure that consumers can make informed decisions. We’re recommending, among other things, that manufacturers be forced to indicate format decreases on their products.
Shrinkflation and taxes, a double price increase.
Shrinkflation doesn’t only increase the price of a product, it may also make it taxable when it wasn’t before. Be aware!
Psst: While store brands are often the last to reduce their formats, they DO use this strategy! Stay on your toes!
6. Reduced quality for the same price (skimpflation)
A term you've probably heard less of, but which is nevertheless a very common practice.
De-qualification is a strategy aimed at reducing the quality of the products sold or the quality of a service offered, without reducing the price. Examples include changes to a product's ingredient list, fewer employees at the checkout, or even self-service checkouts in place of employees. All these changes can have an impact on consumers, without them seeing a drop in price.
What you should know:Is it legal to switch ingredients without announcing it? Switching butter to oil in a cookie recipe may affect the taste or texture, but unless you’ve memorized the ingredient list, you won’t notice the change until after you’ve bought the product (or not at all). BUT as long as the ingredient list is accurate, this practice is legal.
Do you have food allergies or restrictions? It’s crucial to always read the ingredient list, even if it’s your usual brand.
Other tips for lowering your grocery bills:
- Develop your market knowledge. To spot the real discounts, you can consult a multitude of websites or mobile applications to compare prices. Be aware, however, that some of them will ask you to share your personal data in exchange for access to the information.
- Favour discount grocery stores; small discounts can make a big difference on your bill.
- Make a budget. It's the best way to set limits and stay within your means. Option consommateurs offers free free budget consultations if you need to get a clearer picture of your budget. We also have a budget grid right here.
- Plan your menus according to the week's specials. Having flexibility in your choice of dishes will certainly save you money. In this sense, adapting your dishes to seasonal fruits and vegetables is also a good trick.
- Make a grocery list, based on what you already have at home, and stick to it.
- Be open to private labels. Often made in the same factory as the big brands, they're also often less expensive.
- Eat before you shop. Grocery shopping on an empty stomach will lead to more impulse buying.
- Reduce the frequency of your visits to the grocery store. This reduces the risk of buying more than you need.
- Cook as much as you can. There's a cost to convenience solutions like ready-to-eat meals and restaurants.
- Get to know the Price Accuracy Policy (for Quebec province) and the Scanner Price Accuracy Code (for other Canadian provinces).
A few resources:
- Social programs and services in Montreal and Gatineau
- Radio-Canada report on shrinkflation and skimpflation (in French only)
- Help for pregnant women in vulnerable situations
- To report a violation of the law or a misleading practice
- 14th edition of the Canadian Food Price Report
- Podcast: Food inflation, where do we stand? (in French only)
- Everything you need to know about food taxation in Québec
- To learn more about the quality of the food supply in Québec
- Everything you need to know about food taxation in Canada
