Loblaws bringing back 50 per cent discount on last day sale items

Just days after it was announced, Loblaws has confirmed it will be bringing back the 50 per cent discount on last-day sale items.

In an emailed statement to CityNews, the company said it listened to feedback from customers and colleagues since the announcement and will bring back the discounts where it existed before

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. was previously offering discounts of up to 50 per cent on these last-day items but said on Monday, they would be lowering its range to between 30 and 50 per cent to align with what competitors were offering.

The statement said for Loblaws locations in the Atlantic Region they had not yet implemented the reduction and do not plan to. For the rest of the country, customers can expect to see the discounts return in the next few weeks.

The announcement comes one day after NDP House Leader Peter Julian told CityNews the Competition Bureau needed to take a look at what he called “clear gouging.”

“To raise the prices on expiring foods at this critical, difficult time for so many Canadians is simply cruel,” he said.

However, both the Retail Council of Canada and competition expert Michael Osborne said price-matching and discount-matching are normal practices in the industry.

The shift put Loblaw in line with its competitors, J.C. Williams Group retail analyst Lisa Hutcheson said on Tuesday.

With demand for discounted food going up, the grocers have more room to sell those items at a smaller discount, she explained.

“What drives markdowns for retailers is whether it’s selling or not selling,” she said.

Metro told The Canadian Press earlier this week that it has marked down items nearing their best-before date by up to 30 per cent for more than two decades.

Food inflation at the grocery store has been in the spotlight even as it’s slowed from multi-decade highs, with grocery prices rising 4.7 per cent year over year in November. 

Canada’s biggest grocers, including Loblaws, have been under pressure from the federal government to stabilize food prices.

With files from The Canadian Press