If you can’t shake the feeling that your grocery bags feel a little lighter than usual, you might actually be onto something.
What happened: Loblaw has apologized for selling underweighted meat products in 80 of its stores, an oversight that led to customers in Western Canada being overcharged. The problem appears to be the result of the products being weighed with their plastic packaging.
- A CBC investigation revealed that two more Loblaw stores, a Sobeys-owned FreshCo, and a Walmart have also been selling underweighted meat products, charging Canadians anywhere from 4% to 11% more for beef, chicken, and pork.
- While there’s no concrete timeline as to when the problem began, complaints about underweight food at Canadian grocery stores roughly quadrupled in two years.
Why it matters: Over 80% of Canadians already believe grocers are using inflation as an excuse to price gouge. For chains like Loblaw that have faced consumer boycotts and a price-fixing scandal, overcharging customers won’t do much to dispel that lack of trust.
Bottom line: Canadians are paying over 20% more for their groceries than they did at the start of the pandemic. Experts say that for cash-strapped consumers, the small weight difference adds up and translates to millions of dollars in extra profit for grocers.
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