Loblaw testing grocery receipt scanners. Can customers refuse?
For some Loblaw customers in Ontario, their next grocery run might look and feel a little different.
Canada’s largest grocery company confirmed to Global News on Wednesday that it is testing receipt scanners at four of its stores in Windsor, Woodstock, Oakville and Georgetown as part of a pilot project to stop retail theft after CBC News first reported the news.
“Organized retail crime across the entire industry is a very serious issue, and has only gotten worse. It’s having an impact on prices and safety,” Dave Bauer, a Loblaw spokesperson, said in an emailed statement.
Bauer said the company was “working hard to balance a need for enhanced security while at the same time preserving a welcoming and convenient customer experience.”
But some experts say this could put off customers who may also be wondering if Loblaw has grounds to implement the practice.
Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, said such a measure could deter shoppers.
“I think from a PR perspective, grocers need to be careful with how they deal with loss prevention, essentially because, at some point, you may actually be making many patrons feel guilty for not doing anything really other than shopping in your own store,” he told Global News in an interview Wednesday.
There is also the risk of human error, Charlebois said.
“If for any reason, someone is actually being put aside and checked, that person may actually feel guilty and that person may actually never go back to that same store ever again because of that bad experience.”
Canada’s grocers have been facing increased scrutiny as food inflation at many stores remains in the spotlight, even though it has slowed.
Grocery prices had risen by 3.4 per cent
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