Why this grocery store sales tactic doesn't work for all shoppers

When Reva Nelson of Cobourg, Ont. goes grocery shopping, she says she is frustrated to see items on sale, but only if she buys at least four of them at a time.

"I don't want to feel bullied or coerced into buying more than I need in order to get a price break," Nelson told CTV News Toronto.

Multi-purchase or volume discount purchasing is not new, but in an age of food inflation and record high grocery prices it seems more retailers are adopting the strategy as a way to sell more products.

For example, a rice product for sale at a No Frills grocery store was listed for sale at $2.50, but only if you buy four or more. Buy fewer than that and they are $3.29 each.

"I feel forced to buy two or three of something when I only need one of something and sometime it's not a 50 cent price difference. It can be $1.50 or more and that is significant," Nelson said.

"Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys are all anxious to get us to buy more," said Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

Charlebois said volume discounting may benefit larger families who have room to store items, but he says for others it can be viewed as a form of price discrimination.

"A lot of people are living alone or as a couple and they don't need four or five items and if you do compel people to buy too much they will end up wasting more as well," said Charlebois.

CTV News Toronto found volume discounting at No Frills, Food Basics and Walmart. When we reached out to the stores for comment, we were directed to the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and a spokesperson said "RCC does not comment on individual member operations, but suffice it to say that all retailers have their own pricing strategies, which includes offering different ways or promotions so that customers can save money and get value."

We also heard from Loblaw Public Relations and a spokesperson said "The bulk or multi-buy price method is incredibly common across the industry and popular among our customers. We've used it for many years to successfully provide our customers great value."

"Over the years, we’ve evolved the presentation of the shelf label to ensure our customers can easily identify the savings benefit of buying in bulk, while also ensuring the single unit price is clearly communicated. Please note that the multi-buy pricing method is just one of the many ways we deliver overall value to our customers."

Nelson said she hopes grocery stores will also consider sales on individual items for those who don’t want multiple items of the same thing.

"I just think we need a price break without needing to buy so many of something," said Nelson.

A study by Dalhousie University found 63 per cent of Canadians have thrown out food over the past six months. Charlebois said retailers shouldn't have policies in place to encourage people to buy more food than they need.