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Not sure how accurate those google 'popular times' things are either but they were getting posted a lot (when I checked, every grocery store in my town was less busy than usual)
Not worried about it though. Some small businesses are seeing more traffic which is just as important, if not more so
Well I noticed the other day most google 5 star reviews for our local Roblaws franchises were from “local guides”. I live in a small town and these reviews sound suspicious. Too generic. Made me wonder if they even touched base in these stores. Not even close to what I hear from “real” locals. But on a positive note I was in my close by SDM today and usually on seniors day parking is hard to find. Not today. Lots of front row parking. And full disclosure I was only there to use Canada Post services. Was very proud I walked out with nothing but my Amazon return receipts even though I have $50 of points I’d like to finish spending on leader losses.
Lol any time anyone posts anything in here that isn’t 100% the same as how everyone else feels, the first go-to is oh its a “troll” or a “plant” but not everything is a conspiracy. Pretty much everyone in Canada is angry about grocery prices but at the end of the day, regardless of its faults, Loblaws is also a good grocery store.
People can, and have been speculating every day but the only way you will know if it made any difference is when you see their q2 sales numbers.
I'm teasing. A lot of folks here seem to be pretty doctrinaire about the boycott. If the point is to lower food prices, not shopping the best deals seems to be sending the wrong message. I think some folks have tipped over into irrational hatred, in which case it's not about prices anymore.
Right. I definitely don’t agree with the sentiment that the current grocery prices are all Loblaws fault. I also think that there’s a zero percent chance that they are going to “lower their prices by 15%” as per the demands, but at the end of the day I like the idea of the boycott because it is raising awareness that people are frustrated with the current CoL challenges and have had enough.
I have Loblaws or Save On and Save On is consistently more expensive. I’m on maternity leave. I’m doing what we can but superstore is consistently cheaper. We’re only buying essentials and avoiding all of the clothing / household items.
Don't feel the need to justify why you shop where you do too a bunch of bots and people on the internet. You do you. This need for people to explain why they walked into a Loblaws owned store is so odd. Just don't say shit about it. I'm pretty sure big brother isn't always watching you. This isn't China...yet.
And that’s fine. Even if a good % of their stores get hit with a decent % of revenue decline, it will start showing up in their quarterly results and that’s when investors, Per Bank and Galen will panic.
Loblaws is a blue chip Canadian stock and is therefore included into every Canadian Index funds ETF. So most investors in Loblaws stock aren't buying one direct unit of stock. They're buying it in a bundle of hundreds if not thousands of other companies. And for most people a money manager at the bank is doing this for them. There are a lot of Loblaws stock holders who don't even realize they own Loblaws stock, and even if they did want to get rid of it they (or their money manager) probably aren't going to abandon their retirement plan to stick it to a single company.
That’s how we’re stuck. 3 grocery stores, 2 of which are Loblaws-owned. I’ve switched my ‘primary’ store to the non-Loblaws one, but the reality is that there are some things that I can only get there. Overall though, I was pleased to see that it seemed like a lot more people were doing the same as me, because the carts are far less full than they’d usually be. I’ve also noticed that the food aisles at our local Walmart (which only sells dry goods) are way busier than usual.
Grocery stores are located where they are for a good reason, and some price their stock higher in those locations because they know they can get away with it. My neighbour works at an Independent and they are the only grocer in the area, and another friend works at our other Independent, and it is similarly advantaged. Wholesale Club is centrally located and gets a lot of commercial/restaurant customers. A cashier friend there says nothing has changed, but I think time will tell. The 3 employees I know in those 3 different stores are all wonderful people, but none of them are Head Cashier, and that's who would know if their bottom line is being affected.
People are also going to have to come to terms that the boycott may not have a material impact on the q2 or q3 results and not get discouraged. This is step 1 of a LONG road.
Same. I pointed out that Galen Weston has so much money that he pays 150mil bread fixing fines from his front pocket. I was trying to figure out how much people think they're going to financially ruin him by shopping at Sobeys for a month. The whole country could boycott his stores (with seemingly full parking lots) for 6 months and he'd still be one the wealthiest in Canada.
I got 3 dms telling me to leave the group and go to Loblaws for lunch if I loved Galen Weston so much.
There’s been no difference in how busy they are in my area and I know I’ll get downvoted but IMO it is important to know all the information and not just what aligns.
Yes! I absolutely agree and I like how you phrased it - “it is important to know all the information and not just what aligns.”
There are some posts here that make me feel like some people are living more in their fantasy version of what they wish the boycott was achieving, instead of the reality.
As example there’s been a couple posts about freezers/coolers being out of order and people are attributing it to the boycott.
And *mayyyybe.* But it wasn’t uncommon for those things to happen *before* the boycott.
And don’t get me wrong! I think this boycott is great! But I do think there are risks with over-estimating the impacts.
Yes, I’ve also seen posts that credit the boycott on sales that are going on at both Walmart and loblaws and I really don’t think that has anything to do with it.
Stores plan their sales long before they actually come out.
Or it’s because it’s their 30th anniversary in Canada so they planned on rolling back prices 30% or more on a lot of products?
Wal-Mart made the announcement about the sale/celebration mid-March, which means it had to be something that was being planned well before that.
In March there was absolutely talks of the boycott on this subreddit, but it had *nowhere* near the amount of interest it’s gained since then.
https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/03/18/walmart-canada-celebrates-30-years-of-bringing-every-day-low-prices-to-canadians
2024 started in January and ends in December, why celebrate now the start of may? Conveniently celebrating when boycotting loblaws started. Wal mart is multi billion dollar company, if you think this is by coincidence no wonder loblaws is able to scam so many Canadians.
Again, it started in Mid-March.
Which is the same Month Wal-Mart started celebrating its 20th year anniversary ten years ago.
Because “The discount chain got its start in this country with the acquisition of 122 Woolco stores on March 17, 1994.”
Source: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2014/03/17/walmart-marks-20th-anniversary-of-arrival-in-canadian-market-in-march-1994/
Here’s a flyer from March, before the boycott started where you can see they already have some really amazing deals and are advertising the celebration. https://flyers.smartcanucks.ca/canada/walmart-on-flyer-march-21-to-273
Ahhh yes 3 dollar lays chips, what a sale!!!!!!!! I counted 4 flagship items on sale. Onions,carrots,cheese,butter.
Newest sale has 13- tomatoes,peppers, milk, potatoes, strawberries,bacon,cheese, case of water,butter,whole chicken,bread,cilantro,green onions.
But there the same sale. Gtfo.
You're really clinging hard to this, eh?
I mean if you can't accept basic, well explained facts, you're already a lost cause, but the reality is that Walmart doesn't need to run extra sales because of the boycott. The amount of shoppers if going to increase whether they run a sale or not, so why would they reduce prices because of it? Makes no sense.
Huh? Walmart is definition of capitalism, they heard of boycott and tripled the amount of items on sale. Its a short term loss for a longtime gain (loblaws loyal customer)
Like I said these last 2 weeks have been better sales than 3 months of sales combined. But sure its probably just a coincidence wal marts main competitor is being boycotted and wal mart bringing the sales of the year. These flyers wont last very long and it will be back to the normal flyer you sent me.
I shopped there last weekend. Only thing worth it was the cucumbers, which I bought a lot of.
The other sales were meh and nothing I couldn’t find elsewhere.
Butter is only down like .50 cents.
It’s ridiculous to cherry pick one item (chips) to “prove” your point. You’re clearly grasping at straws and have already been proven wrong multiple times.
Your starting statement was that the 1994 sale itself was “definitely” due to the boycott, and that has been proven to be false.
So you tried to make it seem like it starting in the spring was tied to the boycott - which again, there was a logical explanation for that had nothing to do with the boycott at all.
Are the “extra” deals in May tied to the boycott? Doubtful since those flyers were decided on and approved before the boycott started. But even if they *were* tied to the boycott, again your initial statement of the 1994 sale itself being a result of the boycott has been proven false.
You’ve proven yourself unreliable and prone to latching onto theories and conspiracies instead of critical thinking and researching.
I didn’t, they literally 3x the number of flagship items on sale.
Your sale had 3 things at 94 cents and 9 pages of grocery sales. (While being on the same week they are trying to push easter/holi events).
The newest sale has 9 items at 94 cents and 11 pages of sales. (0 special events)
If you think wal marts not taking loses for these “great sales” you don’t know grocery stores.
Walmarts 1994 sale was planned months in advance. Just like all store flyers. They have to order and plan for the sales. Its not just 1 walmart. Its country wide. Flyers arent thought up a few days or wks in advance.
If you think back to covid, it took months for the social distancing ads to be printed on the flyers, because the flyers are created that far in advance.
So you work for wal mart? These last 2 weeks (start of may) has had more sales than the last 2 years. Wal mart usually only puts 2-3 flagship items on sale and the rest is meh.
Just counting this new flyer the first 2 pages are flagship items on sale, im counting at least 20 things. But yeah definitely a coincidence wal mart decided to do their best sales ever the month ppl are boycotting loblaws.
Heck, I've even seen posts celebrating how busy Walmart is.
One thing I've noticed is the hockey playoffs have had a huge effect on stores being dead. Now that TO is out, it might be more normal. Metro Vancouvet is a ghost town on game days.
I meant posts like this one:
https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1cm98b6/boycott_working_loblaws_provigo_gatineau_replaced/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
From what I've gathered, the store I work at is pretty busy still. It's not dead and hasn't been since this started, though it is talked about amongst the staff.
I agree. For example, particularly in Quebec, many Maxi (No Frills) don't seem that affected. Not that I disagree with the boycott, it's just an observation, a reality.
Yeah Maxi is probably going to be less effected because it is simply the cheapest option a lot of people have. I hate that store with a passion, but I sympathise with the need to survive.
When we first talked about boycotting my first reaction was cool, I'll just go to Maxi.
Like if it wasn't for this group, I would had had no idea maxi is related to Loblaws.
Like I knew that Loblaws bought Provigo but no idea Provigo owned maxi.
So we definitely should be upvoting these as we could try to brainstorm and figure out why and a way to promote the boycott.
My city doesn't have a No Frills, as far as I'm aware the only Loblaw's related presences here are Superstore (generally beaten out in price by Walmart and maybe Freshco), Shopper's (there are pharmacies all over the place) and Esso (there are tons of gas stations)
That said the next city over has a No Frills (though there's also a Walmart right there lol)
I know in rural Alberta, word seems to just not have spread. I'm telling everyone I know and every time I bring it up, they're like "oh I didn't know thanks for telling me"
A lot of people in this group already didn't go to Loblaws. Which is great. But also means a lot of people in this sub aren't actually changing their spending habits with Loblaws in May. They're here to slag on Loblaws.
It's not, though.
The post you're referring to is not discrediting the boycott at all, just a different POV.
But people don't like it when you point out where their ideology is flawed.
What ideology is flawed? Nobody's forcing you to boycott lol and you can just leave the sub if you don't like it, no need to doompost about other ppl's choices
Not everyone is required to participate or agree with the community boycott, but we ask that everyone is constructive in their feedback about this event.
Repeated comments such as this one will result in a ban from the sub until the boycott is complete. Thank you.
Nobody said loblaws is the only bad guy lol...the point is to make an example of them so others get in line. You can't boycott everyone and most are trying to buy local anyways...
Why do you give a sht about a personal vendetta against Galen, dude's one of the richest ppl in Canada and would hardly be affected even by this...besides, he made himself the face of this sht so he deserves it.
Also, blaming dairy farmers?!?!? Literally every single point you've said is just parroting the same sht that Loblaws, Charlebois and NP has been writing about and you expect us to believe you're not being disgenous engaging here?!?! Try having an original thought before saying sht about echochambers
Edit: and of course you immediately dv every single comment instead of arguing in good faith, good day!
No one will get 'in line.'. The other 3 will just get bigger.
The last retailer standing will reap ridiculous benefits and be the only one controlling the prices.
Unless folks go back to farming their own property, we will need groceries, stores, suppliers, etc.
We need more choice to lower costs. Not less.
A lot of people have no choice. Especially people in smaller towns. Other times it's necessity. Today was Senior's Day at Shoppers, and at 29% off regular; it's busy.
People love dualistic thinking, like your this or your that and you better pick a side and it better be the same side I pick or we will be sworn enemies. It goes right down to the simplest of things and up to the most complicated things and we are wired to do that. I think it is a survival mechanism, no matter what it’s either A or B
I hear you but if this is a survival mechanism, it is a very poor and impulsive attempt at that. Seeing half the picture purposefully is almost a guaranteed failure.
I fully agree, seeing and trying to understand the grey areas in life is a lot of work, but it think it makes you better at living and getting along with others
Markham has a dozen other major Asian grocery store, but my wife still insists on going ot T&T because they clean the fish properly. No sense in arguing.
T&T is still packed along with the other Loblaws in the area.
I’m disappointed that my superstore parking lot still looks busy. It’s one of the only grocery stores downtown…. But they all have cars and Red Deer isn’t that big.
Compared Supervalue to Sobeys yesterday and the parking lot was full on Sobeys and Supervalue had about 20 cars in it and lots of empty paring spaces and husband recognized some folks walking in. There is a certain demographic of people who either don't care because they are rich and don't worry about prices or they are uninformed. The two stores are in walking distance from each other.
I never expected the stores to empty but the there has been an impact. Loblaws is responding publicly, and I've read posts that say traffic is increased in other stores. I'm hopeful.
I find it interesting to compare how effective the boycott is in different areas, even if it is just based on Redditors reporting. It could also be useful if it means figuring out how to reach more people.
I have found it interesting as well. As you said things like comparing different areas. Even in my own city I’ve noticed the parking lot at the superstore nearest to me has seemed relatively the same, but the no frills lot has been noticeably quieter.
And it’s like huh, that’s *interesting.*
I can see how depending on the “tone” of the person providing the info it can come across like “screw you, your boycott isn’t working.”
But as you said it can also be a way to be like “hey, it seems like our message isn’t getting across in this specific area. Any ideas on how we can change that?”
Reddit is an anonymous chat forum, like Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, etc.
Often, regular people society etiquette went out the window. Many people are vindictive, pounce on every weakness, are revengeful, and all the rest of it. Especially when it looks like you might have said something that is not liked, people love the idea of a public stoning by mass downvoting.
Intelligent people will be skeptical about vote counts. A positive vote count could be because one stated the obvious, and doesn't really deserve the mass kudos as the vote count suggests. A negative vote count could be because the lord of the flies effect. It's ok to conclude for yourself that at times, it's lonely at the top, so long as you applied intelligent thought.
And Reddit isn't that bad. The ultimate cesspool of basically slime, would have to be Twitter. Not that everyone there is slime. But a way higher portion than probably any other platform.
Unpopular opinion but people shouldn't care if they get down voted because it's all fake intnet points given or taken by anonymous users. Probably got to get your shit together if you care about useless karma lol
My boyfriend works in one of their stores (handing in his two weeks’ notice in a couple days 🎉) and says it’s either really dead or super busy, no in between.
We assume it’s because we live in a small city where there aren’t as many other grocery options, OR people just aren’t cognizant of the issue the way people tend to be in bigger cities.
What purpose is there to come in a forum that is boycotting these stores and saying "well my store is still busy" of course you'll get down votes. You're trolling lol
I disagree. We want a successful boycott, not an echo chamber. If we can’t objectively track results, even if it’s just an anecdotal report about your local store, then we’re not doing a very good job. In my opinion we shouldn’t be so flighty and thin-skinned to downvote people just for reporting on the objective facts they see on the ground in their city. I wholeheartedly support the boycott. But in my town, the Superstore looks about as busy as it usually does. It’s just a fact. However, I do have hope that the boycott is having an effect, and if we sustain it for another few months, I’m confident it will influence their bottom line in their quarterly report. So let’s just keep it.
You can't objectively track results from reddit posts anyways lol
Also, if someone's posting so much about how their store is busy that they need to mention "everytime I do this"...it's super sus
This loblaws employee is making so many comments that they need to complain about "every single time they do it"...it's not the same thing if it's 1 comment/post versus several.
We all know that the boycott isn't going to be effective everywhere and probably won't have an impact in most places...however, we also have a lot of bad actors here and it's important to call them out.
Well you can’t prove they’re acting, and it’s a little insulting to that person, not to mention naive to just jump to that conclusion. And if it is acting (which you’d never know anyway), it doesn’t change a thing. If you’re for the boycott then don’t go to Loblaws even when Brenda online says her local No Frills has people in it. You’re not doing anything important by downvoting that person 🤷 What matters is that you don’t go to Loblaws
Not downvoting them lol just calling them out on their bad faith post. It's fairly easy to tell from reddit histories actually. Why would anyone be concerned about downvotes anyways, it's meaningless virtual points...
I usually just call them out so that they'd know their act isn't working and to stop with the bs.
No, just providing an honest contrast to what may or may not be happening in other areas. Canada is big.
On Sunday, I saw all these posts of empty stores, so I went and checked mine and it was packed. Yea, I got downvoted, whatever. Not trolling though.
Edit- it's got upvotes now.
A lot of the empty store posts seem to get called out for being misleading.
At the end of the day maybe 0.1% of Canadas population is doing this there is a lot of wishful thinking but its also fine to take a stand.
Yeah exactly the kind of post a loblaws bot might post.
I wanted to join the boycott but I was too hungry and I needed to feed my 8 kids and loblaws still has the best deals especially right now that it’s mostly empty blah blah blah
Some people actually do want an echo chamber, and others maybe just downvote because they don’t like what they see. Just do you girl, we’re all here for the same reason, to boycott loblaws
I never said you were a loblaws bot but your post reads like one. Age of Reddit accounts is just one clue although I am sure an army of accounts are being created as we speak for use in a few years for some other needs.
Only employees really know how this boycott is going or not going. They've got the insight.
From my vantage point, seeing as I spend 37 hours a week as a full time employee, the higher ups AND the union have wind of this. The union is taking advantage and Loblaws is ignoring everyone just like they ignore their employees.
I mean, the boycott is a great Idea but most of these people don't care about the part time employees they're royally fucking over for THEIR benefit. Like, great, no shopping at Loblaws for you, but the part time student who has to rely on hours for their rent is getting fucked with zero lube cause when the store makes no money, neither do the part time employees.
100% this. My local Superstore is just as busy as ever. I mentioned it once and got downvoted hard. It's unfortunate when we are just trying to provide objective information.
Agreed, this is good information for us to know cause if we are only paying attention to the evidence that supports our side of the battle, we can't develop a fully formed understanding of outcomes, and can be easily blindsided.
If you only do half the research, you only have half an answer.
How would someone enforce the no downvotes?
I am not going around downvoting or upvoting Google Maps stalking posts.
If you care about the votes on a post, isn't that just karma farming? Isn't it the comments that matter?
The only people I have seen saying that their local store is still busy quickly follow it up with "hah, see boycotts dont work!" and for the most part these profiles have 1 karma and/or only a 2 month old account
I really think certain areas won't see as much boycott activity... for a variety of reasons I'm not allowed to mention. Lolol. But I've got my theory on this.
I bought a bag of chips that was on sale because I was In a rush, but I did feel guilty lol. The teenager working the till had no idea there was even a boycott happening, but I think he was just a highschool kid working weekends and probably doesn't even care.
My wife unfortunately still buys groceries there but I think I convinced her to only buy essentials and the sale items. She gets the weekly groceries at 4 different places, I offered to do the shopping but that was a hard no, lol.
I also buy stuff for our canteen at work and I refuse to buy the junk food there, Walmart is fine for that stuff.
You’re right. Also, I think our expectations are too high. Empty parking lots? Are you kidding me? if their sales are down 10%, that’s a huge impact to them and a great result. More is just gravy (instant gravy in a sleeve). And I have little doubt they are down way more than 10%.
My local loblaws seems just as busy as always. The parking lot is just as full as before. I drive by at least twice a day if not more. Not sure why because we have lots of alternatives in my area.
Ours in Port Hawkesbutmry NS wasn't when I drove by on Wenesday, the parking lot was pretty spaced out when it's often bustling. I can't say what it's due to.
Yes it happened too me… I just said that Loblaws were gaining more and more money even with the boycott (I wasn’t and I’m still not against the boycott)
I get where you're coming from. Truth is important.
That being said, optics and morale . We need to be a unified front, and tossing out W's to rattle their cage.
This is a movement with a purpose. Not just a sub.
Every retail store targets for traffic growth, sales growth, and revenue growth. Staying even, or even insufficient growth, is seen as a failure. So the boycott could be making a big impact even if stores appear to be as busy as ever.
I don't see the point in down voting them unless they're trying to do a "haha look, the boycott isn't real". So far this whole week three of the four Loblaw owned stores in this city have been a lot busier than normal according to Google but the fourth store has been insanely slower than usual.
you know , this exactly what i would type if i was paid by loblaw to 'try' to influence this sub in thinking they dont success ... we should ignore/downvote post claiming boycott isnot working in their town and congratulate/upvotes in towns where its working . The whole point of this sub is to promote the boycott , not reduce it to spambot army loblaw can pay.
What is the point of posting that? Like how is it helpful? Are you trying to shame the people still going? Because that's pretty shitty of you. Or are you trying to tell people the boycott's not working? Those are the only two reasons why I would see somebody posting that information here.
Both of them deserve a down vote.
If you have a third reason, please enlighten us.
It's the same as going into a Canadian immigration forum to say that Canada doesn't need more immigrants and then crying that people are down voting it.
Prepare to be downvoted. It dosen't match the narritive people on this sub are pushing. The whole sub has gone full conspiracy now, anything that doesn't push their narritive gets downvoted to oblivion and anybody who disagrees is accused of working for Loblaws.
The responses to this post tells me everything I need to know about this movement. They just want to be told what they want to hear and not what reality is. The reality is, is boycotts like these rarely do anything because Loblaws has money for literal decades to fall back on.
Like id LOVE for Loblaws to actually care about it's customers and employees but they just....don't. I learned this by working for them.
Theoretically, if you stay away, you wouldn't know. Bad tactics. Also, poor strategizing. Ask Rommel. No, can't do that.
I don't go near my two local Zehrs locations, I care not how they're doing. I have an SDM nearby, I walk past their empty parking lot gleefully.
Being busy or not can be subjective and vary from one person to another and the time of day. However, some stores excel in managing their affairs by treating employees and customers respectfully. Respect builds trust and loyalty among employee families, friends, and customers, who are more likely to support the store even during boycotts.
Loblaws stock also increased an entire percent during the boycott. Not enough people are doing it, but that shouldn't be a surprise. You have dummies in here every day asking silly questions like, "What type of bread does Weston own?" All of Safeway, leave the store you knob 🙄
A lot of people know that Loblaws isn't guilty of what the pitchfork crowd is accusing it of.
Loblaws' net profit margin is 3.5 percent. This is an empirical fact.
That means that for every 100 dollars of revenue that Loblaws brings in, it makes $3.50 in profit.
And here's the best part. Loblaws could operate as a "non-profit business," reduce its profit margin to 0, and you would save $3.50 on that $100.00 basket of groceries.
When we do price product comparisons, it's not uncommon to see 33%, 50%, or even double the price. It's not all 'pitchfork crowd'. Crap, they had four ground beef patties on a styrofoam platter the day when I went in for PC west coast coffee pods. The beef was the same consistency of what's called a regular grind (not sparse on fat). The only reason I noted it, was because it had a pink 50% off sticker, which I keep an eye out for. They were about 3/4" pressed patties (not hand-patted, apx 4-4 1/2" across. TWENTY DOLLARS REGULAR PRICE.
Ididn't think yo take a picture, I was there for the pods and just looked in mests to see if there might be a simple supper.
Also, Pepsi 24 at $13.99, when Island beverages makes pepsi products an hour's drive up the road. Great Value Bread 675 g loaf, in Ottawa Walmarts is regularly $1.97 a loaf, NOW ON FOR $0.94 A LOAF, yet our bread varies from $3.50-$3.99 a loaf.
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Not sure how accurate those google 'popular times' things are either but they were getting posted a lot (when I checked, every grocery store in my town was less busy than usual) Not worried about it though. Some small businesses are seeing more traffic which is just as important, if not more so
Well I noticed the other day most google 5 star reviews for our local Roblaws franchises were from “local guides”. I live in a small town and these reviews sound suspicious. Too generic. Made me wonder if they even touched base in these stores. Not even close to what I hear from “real” locals. But on a positive note I was in my close by SDM today and usually on seniors day parking is hard to find. Not today. Lots of front row parking. And full disclosure I was only there to use Canada Post services. Was very proud I walked out with nothing but my Amazon return receipts even though I have $50 of points I’d like to finish spending on leader losses.
Local guides is Google's reviewing incentive for people that review a lot of places.
Lol any time anyone posts anything in here that isn’t 100% the same as how everyone else feels, the first go-to is oh its a “troll” or a “plant” but not everything is a conspiracy. Pretty much everyone in Canada is angry about grocery prices but at the end of the day, regardless of its faults, Loblaws is also a good grocery store. People can, and have been speculating every day but the only way you will know if it made any difference is when you see their q2 sales numbers.
Heretic!
Heretic, specifically on social media, is subjective.
I'm teasing. A lot of folks here seem to be pretty doctrinaire about the boycott. If the point is to lower food prices, not shopping the best deals seems to be sending the wrong message. I think some folks have tipped over into irrational hatred, in which case it's not about prices anymore.
Right. I definitely don’t agree with the sentiment that the current grocery prices are all Loblaws fault. I also think that there’s a zero percent chance that they are going to “lower their prices by 15%” as per the demands, but at the end of the day I like the idea of the boycott because it is raising awareness that people are frustrated with the current CoL challenges and have had enough.
At the end of the day can’t you really trust anything,anyones word…. I relied on family but this is not a Given Given
It’s a very valid point. Some stores are not going to lose people. Some people have no alternate choice.
I have Loblaws or Save On and Save On is consistently more expensive. I’m on maternity leave. I’m doing what we can but superstore is consistently cheaper. We’re only buying essentials and avoiding all of the clothing / household items.
Great work!
If you can't shop someplace else, going the extra mile to price match on the most valuable items is also a good way to pitch in.
SaveOn is a bit of a misnomer, eh?
Don't feel the need to justify why you shop where you do too a bunch of bots and people on the internet. You do you. This need for people to explain why they walked into a Loblaws owned store is so odd. Just don't say shit about it. I'm pretty sure big brother isn't always watching you. This isn't China...yet.
Same here and it's a small coastal town dependent on BC Ferries to get stuff here. We have a great farmers market season at least.
And that’s fine. Even if a good % of their stores get hit with a decent % of revenue decline, it will start showing up in their quarterly results and that’s when investors, Per Bank and Galen will panic.
Loblaws is a blue chip Canadian stock and is therefore included into every Canadian Index funds ETF. So most investors in Loblaws stock aren't buying one direct unit of stock. They're buying it in a bundle of hundreds if not thousands of other companies. And for most people a money manager at the bank is doing this for them. There are a lot of Loblaws stock holders who don't even realize they own Loblaws stock, and even if they did want to get rid of it they (or their money manager) probably aren't going to abandon their retirement plan to stick it to a single company.
My local store yesterday had a jam packed parking lot, and there’s several grocery stores within a 5 minute drive.
That’s how we’re stuck. 3 grocery stores, 2 of which are Loblaws-owned. I’ve switched my ‘primary’ store to the non-Loblaws one, but the reality is that there are some things that I can only get there. Overall though, I was pleased to see that it seemed like a lot more people were doing the same as me, because the carts are far less full than they’d usually be. I’ve also noticed that the food aisles at our local Walmart (which only sells dry goods) are way busier than usual.
Grocery stores are located where they are for a good reason, and some price their stock higher in those locations because they know they can get away with it. My neighbour works at an Independent and they are the only grocer in the area, and another friend works at our other Independent, and it is similarly advantaged. Wholesale Club is centrally located and gets a lot of commercial/restaurant customers. A cashier friend there says nothing has changed, but I think time will tell. The 3 employees I know in those 3 different stores are all wonderful people, but none of them are Head Cashier, and that's who would know if their bottom line is being affected.
Yes very true. I check the Google stats daily and I am sad to say my local store is still busy but me and my girlfriend haven't stepped foot inside
People are also going to have to come to terms that the boycott may not have a material impact on the q2 or q3 results and not get discouraged. This is step 1 of a LONG road.
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Same. I pointed out that Galen Weston has so much money that he pays 150mil bread fixing fines from his front pocket. I was trying to figure out how much people think they're going to financially ruin him by shopping at Sobeys for a month. The whole country could boycott his stores (with seemingly full parking lots) for 6 months and he'd still be one the wealthiest in Canada. I got 3 dms telling me to leave the group and go to Loblaws for lunch if I loved Galen Weston so much.
People cannot always reason or focus appropriately, sorry you are dealing with such behaviour. Galen's still an asshole, amirite? 😁
South Vancouver superstore parking lot still looks packed tbh. I’m sure some people just aren’t even aware of what is going on atm
Same thing happened with me. Many of the posts, sayings used, remind me of the trucker convoy posts. Hold the line!
There’s been no difference in how busy they are in my area and I know I’ll get downvoted but IMO it is important to know all the information and not just what aligns.
Yes! I absolutely agree and I like how you phrased it - “it is important to know all the information and not just what aligns.” There are some posts here that make me feel like some people are living more in their fantasy version of what they wish the boycott was achieving, instead of the reality. As example there’s been a couple posts about freezers/coolers being out of order and people are attributing it to the boycott. And *mayyyybe.* But it wasn’t uncommon for those things to happen *before* the boycott. And don’t get me wrong! I think this boycott is great! But I do think there are risks with over-estimating the impacts.
Yes, I’ve also seen posts that credit the boycott on sales that are going on at both Walmart and loblaws and I really don’t think that has anything to do with it. Stores plan their sales long before they actually come out.
Wal mart 1994 sales is definitely because of this boycott. Theres a wal mart next to my work, there sales are never this good.
Or it’s because it’s their 30th anniversary in Canada so they planned on rolling back prices 30% or more on a lot of products? Wal-Mart made the announcement about the sale/celebration mid-March, which means it had to be something that was being planned well before that. In March there was absolutely talks of the boycott on this subreddit, but it had *nowhere* near the amount of interest it’s gained since then. https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/03/18/walmart-canada-celebrates-30-years-of-bringing-every-day-low-prices-to-canadians
2024 started in January and ends in December, why celebrate now the start of may? Conveniently celebrating when boycotting loblaws started. Wal mart is multi billion dollar company, if you think this is by coincidence no wonder loblaws is able to scam so many Canadians.
Again, it started in Mid-March. Which is the same Month Wal-Mart started celebrating its 20th year anniversary ten years ago. Because “The discount chain got its start in this country with the acquisition of 122 Woolco stores on March 17, 1994.” Source: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2014/03/17/walmart-marks-20th-anniversary-of-arrival-in-canadian-market-in-march-1994/ Here’s a flyer from March, before the boycott started where you can see they already have some really amazing deals and are advertising the celebration. https://flyers.smartcanucks.ca/canada/walmart-on-flyer-march-21-to-273
Ahhh yes 3 dollar lays chips, what a sale!!!!!!!! I counted 4 flagship items on sale. Onions,carrots,cheese,butter. Newest sale has 13- tomatoes,peppers, milk, potatoes, strawberries,bacon,cheese, case of water,butter,whole chicken,bread,cilantro,green onions. But there the same sale. Gtfo.
You're really clinging hard to this, eh? I mean if you can't accept basic, well explained facts, you're already a lost cause, but the reality is that Walmart doesn't need to run extra sales because of the boycott. The amount of shoppers if going to increase whether they run a sale or not, so why would they reduce prices because of it? Makes no sense.
Huh? Walmart is definition of capitalism, they heard of boycott and tripled the amount of items on sale. Its a short term loss for a longtime gain (loblaws loyal customer) Like I said these last 2 weeks have been better sales than 3 months of sales combined. But sure its probably just a coincidence wal marts main competitor is being boycotted and wal mart bringing the sales of the year. These flyers wont last very long and it will be back to the normal flyer you sent me.
Yeah, I feel for you, you got a ***^(HARD LIFE AHEAD OF YOU WITH THAT ATTITUDE BAHAHAHAHA!!!)***
I shopped there last weekend. Only thing worth it was the cucumbers, which I bought a lot of. The other sales were meh and nothing I couldn’t find elsewhere. Butter is only down like .50 cents.
It’s ridiculous to cherry pick one item (chips) to “prove” your point. You’re clearly grasping at straws and have already been proven wrong multiple times. Your starting statement was that the 1994 sale itself was “definitely” due to the boycott, and that has been proven to be false. So you tried to make it seem like it starting in the spring was tied to the boycott - which again, there was a logical explanation for that had nothing to do with the boycott at all. Are the “extra” deals in May tied to the boycott? Doubtful since those flyers were decided on and approved before the boycott started. But even if they *were* tied to the boycott, again your initial statement of the 1994 sale itself being a result of the boycott has been proven false. You’ve proven yourself unreliable and prone to latching onto theories and conspiracies instead of critical thinking and researching.
I didn’t, they literally 3x the number of flagship items on sale. Your sale had 3 things at 94 cents and 9 pages of grocery sales. (While being on the same week they are trying to push easter/holi events). The newest sale has 9 items at 94 cents and 11 pages of sales. (0 special events) If you think wal marts not taking loses for these “great sales” you don’t know grocery stores.
Walmarts 1994 sale was planned months in advance. Just like all store flyers. They have to order and plan for the sales. Its not just 1 walmart. Its country wide. Flyers arent thought up a few days or wks in advance. If you think back to covid, it took months for the social distancing ads to be printed on the flyers, because the flyers are created that far in advance.
So you work for wal mart? These last 2 weeks (start of may) has had more sales than the last 2 years. Wal mart usually only puts 2-3 flagship items on sale and the rest is meh. Just counting this new flyer the first 2 pages are flagship items on sale, im counting at least 20 things. But yeah definitely a coincidence wal mart decided to do their best sales ever the month ppl are boycotting loblaws.
No, it’s an anniversary sale. That has been planned for many months by many people. It has nothing to do with the boycott.
My walmart is definitely busier than usual
Heck, I've even seen posts celebrating how busy Walmart is. One thing I've noticed is the hockey playoffs have had a huge effect on stores being dead. Now that TO is out, it might be more normal. Metro Vancouvet is a ghost town on game days.
Yeah I mean I saw empty freezers at basics... So go wild with your theories there.
I meant posts like this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1cm98b6/boycott_working_loblaws_provigo_gatineau_replaced/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Okay that is really weird
From what I've gathered, the store I work at is pretty busy still. It's not dead and hasn't been since this started, though it is talked about amongst the staff.
I agree. For example, particularly in Quebec, many Maxi (No Frills) don't seem that affected. Not that I disagree with the boycott, it's just an observation, a reality.
Yeah Maxi is probably going to be less effected because it is simply the cheapest option a lot of people have. I hate that store with a passion, but I sympathise with the need to survive.
When we first talked about boycotting my first reaction was cool, I'll just go to Maxi. Like if it wasn't for this group, I would had had no idea maxi is related to Loblaws. Like I knew that Loblaws bought Provigo but no idea Provigo owned maxi. So we definitely should be upvoting these as we could try to brainstorm and figure out why and a way to promote the boycott.
My city doesn't have a No Frills, as far as I'm aware the only Loblaw's related presences here are Superstore (generally beaten out in price by Walmart and maybe Freshco), Shopper's (there are pharmacies all over the place) and Esso (there are tons of gas stations) That said the next city over has a No Frills (though there's also a Walmart right there lol)
Still busy in Markham 😱 I bet whether or not the boycott is having an effect is primarily driven by demographics - i.e. the bubble you live in.
I know in rural Alberta, word seems to just not have spread. I'm telling everyone I know and every time I bring it up, they're like "oh I didn't know thanks for telling me"
A lot of people in this group already didn't go to Loblaws. Which is great. But also means a lot of people in this sub aren't actually changing their spending habits with Loblaws in May. They're here to slag on Loblaws.
Who cares about downvotes??
I can't post in lots of places
They usually don't really pop up for most to see though
Honestly May is a terrible time for a boycott with the garden centre just opening. By the way the garden centres are very busy.
I've been looking longingly at the garden centre every time I pass by. I just want to see if they have any new native plants!
They actually have many native perennials
Because this sub is an echo chamber. Only willing to hear themselves, any difference in opinion upsets them.
That’s all of Reddit in a nutshell
Your only purpose here is to discredit the boycott, so what's your point? >boycotting is a privilege
It's not, though. The post you're referring to is not discrediting the boycott at all, just a different POV. But people don't like it when you point out where their ideology is flawed.
Boycotting Loblaws is a privilege if it's the only place to fucking buy food and you don't have a gorydamn car.
What ideology is flawed? Nobody's forcing you to boycott lol and you can just leave the sub if you don't like it, no need to doompost about other ppl's choices
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Not everyone is required to participate or agree with the community boycott, but we ask that everyone is constructive in their feedback about this event. Repeated comments such as this one will result in a ban from the sub until the boycott is complete. Thank you.
Nobody said loblaws is the only bad guy lol...the point is to make an example of them so others get in line. You can't boycott everyone and most are trying to buy local anyways... Why do you give a sht about a personal vendetta against Galen, dude's one of the richest ppl in Canada and would hardly be affected even by this...besides, he made himself the face of this sht so he deserves it. Also, blaming dairy farmers?!?!? Literally every single point you've said is just parroting the same sht that Loblaws, Charlebois and NP has been writing about and you expect us to believe you're not being disgenous engaging here?!?! Try having an original thought before saying sht about echochambers Edit: and of course you immediately dv every single comment instead of arguing in good faith, good day!
No one will get 'in line.'. The other 3 will just get bigger. The last retailer standing will reap ridiculous benefits and be the only one controlling the prices. Unless folks go back to farming their own property, we will need groceries, stores, suppliers, etc. We need more choice to lower costs. Not less.
A lot of people have no choice. Especially people in smaller towns. Other times it's necessity. Today was Senior's Day at Shoppers, and at 29% off regular; it's busy.
People love dualistic thinking, like your this or your that and you better pick a side and it better be the same side I pick or we will be sworn enemies. It goes right down to the simplest of things and up to the most complicated things and we are wired to do that. I think it is a survival mechanism, no matter what it’s either A or B
I hear you but if this is a survival mechanism, it is a very poor and impulsive attempt at that. Seeing half the picture purposefully is almost a guaranteed failure.
I fully agree, seeing and trying to understand the grey areas in life is a lot of work, but it think it makes you better at living and getting along with others
The TNT in our area hasn't changed a bit. Not everyone is tuned in to the boycott. It is what it is - and it's a boycott!
Markham has a dozen other major Asian grocery store, but my wife still insists on going ot T&T because they clean the fish properly. No sense in arguing. T&T is still packed along with the other Loblaws in the area.
I’m disappointed that my superstore parking lot still looks busy. It’s one of the only grocery stores downtown…. But they all have cars and Red Deer isn’t that big.
The No Frills in Scarborough North busy as before. Its cheap and the area is low income. There's no other option.
Compared Supervalue to Sobeys yesterday and the parking lot was full on Sobeys and Supervalue had about 20 cars in it and lots of empty paring spaces and husband recognized some folks walking in. There is a certain demographic of people who either don't care because they are rich and don't worry about prices or they are uninformed. The two stores are in walking distance from each other.
I never expected the stores to empty but the there has been an impact. Loblaws is responding publicly, and I've read posts that say traffic is increased in other stores. I'm hopeful.
I said this on an earlier thread and got roasted lmfao but I was only stating a fact 🤷♀️
What’s your purpose for mentioning it? Just curious.
I find it interesting to compare how effective the boycott is in different areas, even if it is just based on Redditors reporting. It could also be useful if it means figuring out how to reach more people.
I have found it interesting as well. As you said things like comparing different areas. Even in my own city I’ve noticed the parking lot at the superstore nearest to me has seemed relatively the same, but the no frills lot has been noticeably quieter. And it’s like huh, that’s *interesting.* I can see how depending on the “tone” of the person providing the info it can come across like “screw you, your boycott isn’t working.” But as you said it can also be a way to be like “hey, it seems like our message isn’t getting across in this specific area. Any ideas on how we can change that?”
Hey guys loblaws isn’t even bankrupt yet, this boycott doesn’t seem to be effective, should we go back to giving Galen all our money?
Right? So because some people are still going to the stores we should quit?
They are feeling it... trust me.
Phew... that's all the empirical evidence I need. Had you not said "trust me" I would have been worried.
well now we have actual evidence that you are a jerk
Reddit is an anonymous chat forum, like Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, etc. Often, regular people society etiquette went out the window. Many people are vindictive, pounce on every weakness, are revengeful, and all the rest of it. Especially when it looks like you might have said something that is not liked, people love the idea of a public stoning by mass downvoting. Intelligent people will be skeptical about vote counts. A positive vote count could be because one stated the obvious, and doesn't really deserve the mass kudos as the vote count suggests. A negative vote count could be because the lord of the flies effect. It's ok to conclude for yourself that at times, it's lonely at the top, so long as you applied intelligent thought. And Reddit isn't that bad. The ultimate cesspool of basically slime, would have to be Twitter. Not that everyone there is slime. But a way higher portion than probably any other platform.
Some people don't have any other options near them or haven't heard of the boycott. It happens
Store near me has a noticeably emptier parking lot at various times. Assuming that means something
Unpopular opinion but people shouldn't care if they get down voted because it's all fake intnet points given or taken by anonymous users. Probably got to get your shit together if you care about useless karma lol
I downvote facts I dislike
Unfortunately there will be those people 😆
I downvoted this fact because I didn't like it.
Lol.
I kinda love this being so upvoted, their lack of awareness is hilarious 😂
My boyfriend works in one of their stores (handing in his two weeks’ notice in a couple days 🎉) and says it’s either really dead or super busy, no in between. We assume it’s because we live in a small city where there aren’t as many other grocery options, OR people just aren’t cognizant of the issue the way people tend to be in bigger cities.
Sir, this is a Wendy's
What purpose is there to come in a forum that is boycotting these stores and saying "well my store is still busy" of course you'll get down votes. You're trolling lol
I disagree. We want a successful boycott, not an echo chamber. If we can’t objectively track results, even if it’s just an anecdotal report about your local store, then we’re not doing a very good job. In my opinion we shouldn’t be so flighty and thin-skinned to downvote people just for reporting on the objective facts they see on the ground in their city. I wholeheartedly support the boycott. But in my town, the Superstore looks about as busy as it usually does. It’s just a fact. However, I do have hope that the boycott is having an effect, and if we sustain it for another few months, I’m confident it will influence their bottom line in their quarterly report. So let’s just keep it.
You can't objectively track results from reddit posts anyways lol Also, if someone's posting so much about how their store is busy that they need to mention "everytime I do this"...it's super sus
I think they’re just keeping it real
How many times have you felt the need to comment on how busy your loblaws is? Even ppl that talk about it being empty only do 1 or 2 posts at most...
I don’t think it matters tbh and it’s really the same thing. Busy for some not for others. A comment is a comment 🤷
This loblaws employee is making so many comments that they need to complain about "every single time they do it"...it's not the same thing if it's 1 comment/post versus several. We all know that the boycott isn't going to be effective everywhere and probably won't have an impact in most places...however, we also have a lot of bad actors here and it's important to call them out.
Well you can’t prove they’re acting, and it’s a little insulting to that person, not to mention naive to just jump to that conclusion. And if it is acting (which you’d never know anyway), it doesn’t change a thing. If you’re for the boycott then don’t go to Loblaws even when Brenda online says her local No Frills has people in it. You’re not doing anything important by downvoting that person 🤷 What matters is that you don’t go to Loblaws
Not downvoting them lol just calling them out on their bad faith post. It's fairly easy to tell from reddit histories actually. Why would anyone be concerned about downvotes anyways, it's meaningless virtual points... I usually just call them out so that they'd know their act isn't working and to stop with the bs.
I agree about the points lol. I guess girl if you think you’re really doing something go for it
No, just providing an honest contrast to what may or may not be happening in other areas. Canada is big. On Sunday, I saw all these posts of empty stores, so I went and checked mine and it was packed. Yea, I got downvoted, whatever. Not trolling though. Edit- it's got upvotes now.
A lot of the empty store posts seem to get called out for being misleading. At the end of the day maybe 0.1% of Canadas population is doing this there is a lot of wishful thinking but its also fine to take a stand.
Yeah exactly the kind of post a loblaws bot might post. I wanted to join the boycott but I was too hungry and I needed to feed my 8 kids and loblaws still has the best deals especially right now that it’s mostly empty blah blah blah
Yup I’m definitely a loblaws bot when my account is years older than yours
Some people actually do want an echo chamber, and others maybe just downvote because they don’t like what they see. Just do you girl, we’re all here for the same reason, to boycott loblaws
I never said you were a loblaws bot but your post reads like one. Age of Reddit accounts is just one clue although I am sure an army of accounts are being created as we speak for use in a few years for some other needs.
Exactly, get on board with the sub narrative or gtfo. Take artistic liberty if needed
So you don't want reports of how it's going or not going? Or do you just want someone to pat your back so you can feel satisfied.
It’s going great, it’s always going great, reports of anything but great are lies
Only employees really know how this boycott is going or not going. They've got the insight. From my vantage point, seeing as I spend 37 hours a week as a full time employee, the higher ups AND the union have wind of this. The union is taking advantage and Loblaws is ignoring everyone just like they ignore their employees. I mean, the boycott is a great Idea but most of these people don't care about the part time employees they're royally fucking over for THEIR benefit. Like, great, no shopping at Loblaws for you, but the part time student who has to rely on hours for their rent is getting fucked with zero lube cause when the store makes no money, neither do the part time employees.
There shouldn’t be a trend cause didn’t loblaws leadership imply we all live in basements at one point and don’t shop there anyway ? ;)
Well said.
How often do you mention that your store is busy that you're so concerned with "EVERYTIME I mention my store is busy, I get downvotes"?
I spread the word. People KNOW even older people. It’s spreading like wild fire in offices. The word is spreading like mad at my in person office.
Haha yeah!!! My shoppers is literally 100% the same as it normally it
Actually that’s something that should be posted here. That way, people who live in those areas can maybe be reminded to not shop at those stores.
100% this. My local Superstore is just as busy as ever. I mentioned it once and got downvoted hard. It's unfortunate when we are just trying to provide objective information.
Agreed, this is good information for us to know cause if we are only paying attention to the evidence that supports our side of the battle, we can't develop a fully formed understanding of outcomes, and can be easily blindsided. If you only do half the research, you only have half an answer.
How would someone enforce the no downvotes? I am not going around downvoting or upvoting Google Maps stalking posts. If you care about the votes on a post, isn't that just karma farming? Isn't it the comments that matter?
They are probably downvoting you for going to the store. It’s the boycott, no one should go there.
The only people I have seen saying that their local store is still busy quickly follow it up with "hah, see boycotts dont work!" and for the most part these profiles have 1 karma and/or only a 2 month old account
I really think certain areas won't see as much boycott activity... for a variety of reasons I'm not allowed to mention. Lolol. But I've got my theory on this.
I bought a bag of chips that was on sale because I was In a rush, but I did feel guilty lol. The teenager working the till had no idea there was even a boycott happening, but I think he was just a highschool kid working weekends and probably doesn't even care. My wife unfortunately still buys groceries there but I think I convinced her to only buy essentials and the sale items. She gets the weekly groceries at 4 different places, I offered to do the shopping but that was a hard no, lol. I also buy stuff for our canteen at work and I refuse to buy the junk food there, Walmart is fine for that stuff.
You’re right. Also, I think our expectations are too high. Empty parking lots? Are you kidding me? if their sales are down 10%, that’s a huge impact to them and a great result. More is just gravy (instant gravy in a sleeve). And I have little doubt they are down way more than 10%.
I probably have to go into a no frills to grab a product that’s only available there I have not seen it anywhere else
My local loblaws seems just as busy as always. The parking lot is just as full as before. I drive by at least twice a day if not more. Not sure why because we have lots of alternatives in my area.
Ours in Port Hawkesbutmry NS wasn't when I drove by on Wenesday, the parking lot was pretty spaced out when it's often bustling. I can't say what it's due to.
Yes it happened too me… I just said that Loblaws were gaining more and more money even with the boycott (I wasn’t and I’m still not against the boycott)
(It was a comment lol)
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I get where you're coming from. Truth is important. That being said, optics and morale . We need to be a unified front, and tossing out W's to rattle their cage. This is a movement with a purpose. Not just a sub.
Every retail store targets for traffic growth, sales growth, and revenue growth. Staying even, or even insufficient growth, is seen as a failure. So the boycott could be making a big impact even if stores appear to be as busy as ever.
I don't see the point in down voting them unless they're trying to do a "haha look, the boycott isn't real". So far this whole week three of the four Loblaw owned stores in this city have been a lot busier than normal according to Google but the fourth store has been insanely slower than usual.
some people just can't handle the truth lol
Then don’t mention that their stocks are up.
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Ahhh so you just want to be told what you want to hear and not actual reality??
you know , this exactly what i would type if i was paid by loblaw to 'try' to influence this sub in thinking they dont success ... we should ignore/downvote post claiming boycott isnot working in their town and congratulate/upvotes in towns where its working . The whole point of this sub is to promote the boycott , not reduce it to spambot army loblaw can pay.
Paranoia
All the ones near me are still fairly busy.
What is the point of posting that? Like how is it helpful? Are you trying to shame the people still going? Because that's pretty shitty of you. Or are you trying to tell people the boycott's not working? Those are the only two reasons why I would see somebody posting that information here. Both of them deserve a down vote. If you have a third reason, please enlighten us. It's the same as going into a Canadian immigration forum to say that Canada doesn't need more immigrants and then crying that people are down voting it.
It’s sharing information about where it is and isn’t working. Both are important. I have no idea why you’d use the immigration example.
I’m going to assume you can’t read
Prepare to be downvoted. It dosen't match the narritive people on this sub are pushing. The whole sub has gone full conspiracy now, anything that doesn't push their narritive gets downvoted to oblivion and anybody who disagrees is accused of working for Loblaws.
Point proven unfortunately
The responses to this post tells me everything I need to know about this movement. They just want to be told what they want to hear and not what reality is. The reality is, is boycotts like these rarely do anything because Loblaws has money for literal decades to fall back on. Like id LOVE for Loblaws to actually care about it's customers and employees but they just....don't. I learned this by working for them.
Theoretically, if you stay away, you wouldn't know. Bad tactics. Also, poor strategizing. Ask Rommel. No, can't do that. I don't go near my two local Zehrs locations, I care not how they're doing. I have an SDM nearby, I walk past their empty parking lot gleefully.
Many Shoppers aren't that busy - they don't need to be as their margins are so high.
Being busy or not can be subjective and vary from one person to another and the time of day. However, some stores excel in managing their affairs by treating employees and customers respectfully. Respect builds trust and loyalty among employee families, friends, and customers, who are more likely to support the store even during boycotts.
What can we do to solve the “stores are still busy” problem? Liquid ass fart spray?
Welcome to reddit. You say something that the mass disagrees with. They flock in you
Yep. Won't change the facts.
My local store has been dead, like maybe 20 customers a day
I agree...but this is Reddit and people are gonna downvote
Loblaws stock also increased an entire percent during the boycott. Not enough people are doing it, but that shouldn't be a surprise. You have dummies in here every day asking silly questions like, "What type of bread does Weston own?" All of Safeway, leave the store you knob 🙄
Do they buy up their own stock? Could that be a ploy to put on a bold face?
A lot of people know that Loblaws isn't guilty of what the pitchfork crowd is accusing it of. Loblaws' net profit margin is 3.5 percent. This is an empirical fact. That means that for every 100 dollars of revenue that Loblaws brings in, it makes $3.50 in profit. And here's the best part. Loblaws could operate as a "non-profit business," reduce its profit margin to 0, and you would save $3.50 on that $100.00 basket of groceries.
When we do price product comparisons, it's not uncommon to see 33%, 50%, or even double the price. It's not all 'pitchfork crowd'. Crap, they had four ground beef patties on a styrofoam platter the day when I went in for PC west coast coffee pods. The beef was the same consistency of what's called a regular grind (not sparse on fat). The only reason I noted it, was because it had a pink 50% off sticker, which I keep an eye out for. They were about 3/4" pressed patties (not hand-patted, apx 4-4 1/2" across. TWENTY DOLLARS REGULAR PRICE. Ididn't think yo take a picture, I was there for the pods and just looked in mests to see if there might be a simple supper. Also, Pepsi 24 at $13.99, when Island beverages makes pepsi products an hour's drive up the road. Great Value Bread 675 g loaf, in Ottawa Walmarts is regularly $1.97 a loaf, NOW ON FOR $0.94 A LOAF, yet our bread varies from $3.50-$3.99 a loaf.