Loblaw customers protest receipt-check policy introduced at select stores

John McCracken says he was shocked when he recently spotted a new sign at his local Loblaw-owned Superstore just outside Halifax, warning customers the store was conducting receipt checks when shoppers exit. 

"I was really disgusted. I thought it was really adding insult to injury after all the price gouging," said McCracken, referring to claims Loblaw has inflated grocery prices — which the retailer denies.

Several shoppers complained to CBC News about receipt-check signs they spotted within the past two weeks at their Loblaw-owned grocer, including Loblaws and Zehrs stores in Ontario. Each of those signs has now disappeared, but Loblaw won't say if it has abandoned receipt checks, which can be unpopular with shoppers and difficult to enforce. 

"I don't like the approach," said Zain Ismail, who says he was taken aback when he saw two receipt-check warning signs while shopping at a Zehrs in Windsor.

He said an employee checked shoppers' receipts — but not bags — as they left the store at a designated exit with gates on either side. 

"It kind of makes you feel like a criminal," said Ismail. "I wasn't exactly sure what triggered Loblaws to do this."

Loblaw Companies Ltd. provided no details about the receipt checks, except to say in an email to CBC News that the signs were posted in select stores to inform customers about "a change in practice at the location." 

According to wording on the signs, the purpose of the receipt checks is to "validate and maintain inventory accuracy." 

"'Inventory accuracy' is a tongue-in-cheek way, I think, of saying, 'There's a lot of [theft] going on in the store,'" said criminal lawyer Kyla Lee. 

She says retailers typically introduce receipt checks, along with accompanying bag searches, as a theft deterrent.

Although it has no hard data, the Retail Council of Canada says shoplifting is on the rise due to a growing resale market for stolen goods, an increase in organized crime, and escalating inflation. 

According to Statistics Canada, grocery prices increased by 9.1 per cent in April compared to one year ago.

Despite the reported rise in theft, industry experts told CBC News receipt checks may not be a wise solution. Lee said they generally aren't enforceable by law and can lead to legal issues for retailers, including human rights complaints.

And they can generate bad PR, said Toronto-based retail consultant Bruce Winder.