Last November, when Emily Johnson created a subreddit for people to vent about Loblaw grocery prices, she did not expect it to blow up the way it did.

"It's been wild," she said in an interview. "The group was created as a therapeutic outlet for people to complain about prices and have some fun, spreading some memes."

And it certainly has been, with frustrated Canadians posting daily on r/Loblaws Is Out of Control about soaring food prices at Loblaw-owned stores and other major grocery chains.

From questionable discounts to the depressing comparison of grocery prices in 2024 and 2019, plenty of stories on the subreddit will make most Canadians seethe with anger.

But now, with over 24,000 members and counting, the community is taking action IRL.

It's planning to boycott Loblaw stores for the month of May.

Johnson, a mental health and addictions worker based in Milton, Ontario, says the group has decided to boycott Loblaw in particular because it has become the face of Canada's cost of living crisis.

"Seeing groceries — an essential that nobody can avoid paying for — rise beyond the rate of inflation is really upsetting a lot of people," she explained.

"Because Loblaw is one of the most prolific grocers in the country, many people have placed most of that frustration onto Loblaws, especially Galen Weston Jr. himself."

How will the Loblaw boycott work?

Johnson says the subreddit saw a spike in members when the grocery giant flip-flopped on its 50% discount on nearly expired items.

Many organic conversations began online about how consumers could take further action against skyrocketing grocery prices.

One of the main ideas was a boycott, so Johnson and her team of seven moderators went to work organizing.

In a series of posts, they got the subreddit to vote on who they would boycott, for how long, and when.

Johnson shared the final rules of the boycott in the subreddit last week.

The two main guidelines for shoppers are:

• Don't shop at Loblaw and Loblaw-owned stores for the entire month of May 2024
• If shopping is taking place at Loblaw stores, focus on purchasing loss leaders

For those who don’t know, a loss leader is a business strategy that involves selling a product at a price that isn't profitable to the company but does help to attract new customers or sell additional products to shoppers.

This Reddit user gives a great example of how to boycott by buying loss leaders only.

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byu/Emmibolt from discussion
inloblawsisoutofcontrol

If you want to participate and aren't sure which grocery chains Loblaw owns, the subreddit has provided a list of all its subsidiaries across Canada.

Johnson knows that not everyone can participate in the boycott, so she has provided alternative ways of showing support.

Canadians can send a letter to their member of Parliament using a template created by the moderators, sign an e-petition to the House of Commons (which the group will provide a link to once it receives MP approval), or send an email to Loblaw customer support expressing their discontent with prices, for which the group has also created a template.

The guideline also provides shoppers with alternatives to the major grocers.

BOYCOTT
byu/Emmibolt inloblawsisoutofcontrol

Johnson says this is likely the first of many boycotts against major grocery corporations in Canada.

"This will also be a great opportunity for us to work out the kinks in the process and be quite specific about how we want to approach future boycotts," she said.

The boycott's demands

The community is asking Loblaw to consider reducing its prices by 15 pe rcent and removing "member-only pricing," where customers are forced to sign up for a PC Optimum card to access deals and sales.

However, underlining these action items is a bigger goal.

"The biggest goal outside of 'hey, don’t charge us exorbitant prices' is that the consumers really do have the power, we do want to be taken seriously… we don't want to tolerate monopolies in Canada anymore," explained Johnson.

Loblaw has yet to reply to a request for comment on the boycott.

"Hold these people accountable"

While most of the subreddit's members are enthusiastic about the boycott, some think it won’t make a difference.

To these people, Johnson says, "any action is better than no action at all."

"I think this could very well be the first of many other dominoes to fall," she said.

"One person may not be able to make a difference, but a bunch of people together absolutely can, and we can hold these people accountable and make positive changes for Canadians."