While groceries are more expensive than ever, busy or lazy customers are leaving products they no longer want on shelves – a practice that retailers denounce and that is helping to drive up prices.
A Journal tour of several grocery stores found that customers don't always bother to retrace their steps when removing an item from their shopping cart.
“This happens so often. “It is certain that we will have to throw away the yogurt because it is no longer cold,” confided a clerk in a large supermarket in Quebec.
The Journal's representative had just informed him that a package containing two containers of yogurt had been left near the candy bars and very far from the refrigerators.
“If someone doesn’t take the time to replace a product that needs to be refrigerated or frozen, I think that’s a lack of civil responsibility. The impact is still significant. Costs are already rising. That increases losses,” says Sylvain Charlebois, full professor of management and agriculture at Dalhousie University.
Grocers were not afraid to speak of a “scourge.”
In an inflationary context, “we certainly notice it much more,” Mr. Charlebois adds, saying this phenomenon is not new.
Worrying situation
The Association of Food Retailers of Quebec (ADAQ) assures that this practice is a cause for concern among its members.
“Certain chilled or frozen products can no longer be sold as we cannot know whether the cold chain is broken, which contributes to food waste.” We cannot play with food safety. It’s about the health of customers,” said Samuel Bouchard Villeneuve, director of public affairs at ADAQ.
Samuel Bouchard Villeneuve, public affairs director of the Association of Food Retailers of Quebec (ADAQ). (Photo provided by ADAQ) Photo provided by ADAQ
According to him, the situation among retailers is different.
“Some are noticing an increase, while for others the problem has been going on for several years.”
The ADAQ brings together retailers and owners who operate on very thin profit margins, he points out.
“We’re talking about 2% when things are going well. When things go bad, they lose money.”
Spontaneous decision
Mr. Charlebois claims that a large portion of purchases at grocery stores are spontaneous decisions, influenced primarily by the discounts that customers notice in the store.
Consumers surveyed by Le Journal unanimously condemned this behavior.
“Sometimes we change our minds, but we will move the products. We don't leave them everywhere. We make a lot of effort to put them in the right place. It’s a question of civics,” Francine and Jean-Guy said as they exited the Lebourgneuf Walmart.
“This type of behavior has no place. There are enough people who lack food. It shocks me. We already pay attention to everything we buy,” says Claire Chabot as she comes out of the same store.
We found POM tortillas and dried mango snacks in the grocery store of a Walmart in the Quebec region. Photo Diane Tremblay
In this photo we see a sliced multigrain bread left on the apple chip shelves of an IGA in the Quebec region. Photo Diane Tremblay
Non-perishable products left in the aisles can be resold. However, this still represents a waste of time for grocers. Here, in a Walmart in Quebec, there are still cans of tomatoes in the chip section. Photo Diane Tremblay
According to the Association of Food Retailers of Quebec (ADAQ), abandoning products by customers who change their minds is a concern for grocers as it leads to wasted time and money. In the photo, a jar of spices goes unnoticed next to cans of Pepsi in a Walmart in Quebec. Photo Diane Tremblay
A new way to think about grocery shopping
One of the independent players in Quebec, Pasquier, took advantage of the opening of a 90,000 square meter store in Delson in Montérégie two and a half years ago to review the marketing of products from A to Z and avoid product losses abandoned along the way.
“We thoroughly analyzed consumer behavior in our Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu store before opening the Delson store,” said Annie Paquette, general manager of retail.
For example, instead of offering juices in different locations throughout the store, Pasquier Grocery in Delson offers all types of juices (fresh, frozen and boxed) in the same aisle.
“I would often walk through my store in Saint-Jean and find chilled juice as well as dry juice,” remembers Ms. Paquette.
Annie Paquette, General Manager, Office Manager, Retail, Pasquier Grocery Stores. (Photo provided by Pasquier) Photo provided by Pasquier
“In a large store like ours, people may not take the time to return a product to where they brought it. In a clothing store there are no consequences, but in a grocery store where we work with perishable products, the break in the cold chain causes a direct loss to the retailer. The product is thrown away and therefore wasted.”
Another innovative example was grouping frozen fruits and vegetables with fresh produce.
“This doesn’t exist anywhere else in Quebec. […] We make decision-making easier for customers. If I need cauliflower for soup, it doesn't matter whether it's fresh or frozen. The customer can make the decision in the same environment. “So we find a lot less product everywhere in the store,” she continued.
The effort was worth it because the results were there. This new approach has been well received by customers, says Ms. Paquette.
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