Grocery chain removes ‘buy more to save’ deals in Ontario and beyond

Loblaw discount store, No Frills, won’t offer “buy more to save” deals in Ontario and across Canada but it’s difficult to know if this is good news, according to one expert.

No Frills announced today (July 3) that, effective immediately, offers like “buy two for $5 or one for $2.99″ will no longer be part of the store’s promotions.

Instead, the low prices will extend to individual items, a press release from No Frills states.

“We pride ourselves on always keeping our customers’ needs at heart, and listening to their feedback,” said Melanie Singh, president, No Frills. “Our customers told us loud and clear that they don’t want to have to buy more to save.”

Singh indicates that the savings will remain but shoppers won’t have to buy multiple items.

“With the elimination of multi-buy pricing, we are making it even easier for our customers to manage their budgets every day,” Singh said.

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Customers have been asking for the removal of this type of pricing for years, said Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University and host of The Food Professor podcast.

This practice is seen as unfair to single people and seniors.

“If you didn’t need to buy that amount of food, you were forced into buying too much food,” Charlebois told insauga.com.

In addition, Charlebois said Loblaw wouldn’t honour requests for people to buy just one item with the same discount, unlike other stores.

“It’s good news seniors for single folks but at the same time who knows what is going to happen to prices, maybe prices will go up,” he added.

It’s difficult to know if No Frills will actually offer the same type of deal but on single items.

“I am accepting the news with a great deal of skepticism,” he added.

BREAKING: Loblaw ends multi-buy discounts, such as “buy 2 for $4.99” or “one for $3.00,” effective immediately. This pricing strategy has been an annoyance for consumers for years.

— The Food Professor (@FoodProfessor) July 3, 2024

Lead photo: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine