The case against senior discounts
“Hey, is this lady a senior?” His words bounced off the magazine rack, down the chip aisle, past the toothbrushes, and over the vitamins to its intended recipient across the store. It was as ear-splitting and unwelcome as gunfire and with the same potential to kill. Not literally of course - we all know “sticks and stones…” - but bored a hole through my confidence and annihilated my sense of youth.
Before I could raise my jaw back up to express outrage, my cashier’s supervisor glanced apologetically in my direction and shook her head at her trainee. “Ah, no, no, I don’t think so,” she replied to the young man at cash, making a mental note to have a chat with him later about discretion.
He nodded silently and waved my next purchase across the scanner. I’d recovered from the blog to my ego and chuckled internally. The word “Tampax” remained visible as he shoved the box into the red and white Shoppers Drug Mart bag. Although presumably technically possible, the chances of needing feminine hygiene products and getting the seniors’ discount at the pharmacy seemed remote. I wasn’t a physiological aberration, just a grey-haired 41 year old picking up supplies on my lunch break, 14 years shy of getting 20% off on Thursdays.
Admittedly, when Jack hit 65, we took advantage of cheaper movie nights at Cineplex. His love for a deal was in direct conflict with his pride of looking younger than his years (or so he thought). But he knew we didn’t need the break. I understood, each time harkening back to my Shoppers experience: those of us who are fortunate enough to “have,” feel uncomfortable with advantages that are best left for those who “haven’t.”
A couple of weeks ago, I went into Shoppers on a Thursday. It was packed and as I looked around, I realized it was largely populated with the white-haired set, lured in by the promise of 20% off. On a whim, I asked the cashier whether I was eligible for the discount, having crossed the 55 threshold 18 mos ago. She shook her head and explained when Loblaw* bought them, they upped the age to 65.** Loblaw is milking us big-time right now, so I was disappointed; that day, anyway, I would have taken the deal.
It got me thinking, though, about this seniors’ discount business, something I first pondered thirty years ago when my parents started having their banking fees waived. Frankly, it didn’t seem right. As seniors, they had more money than they’d ever had. I was in my 20s, and was working hard to pay off school debts and save to buy a car and real estate. Those $1.50s here and there made a difference to me; having them waived was utterly meaningless to mom and dad. We joked about it but it rankled and they knew it. Why were the rich getting ever-richer? My developing socialist self kept thinking couldn’t we find a more equitable way, something more akin to “pay what you can”?
Not much has changed. I’m still mulling this over and we’re still giving people breaks at times they might not need them.
But what is the solution? Loblaw is surely not expected to do a means’ test right there on the spot - hell, they aren’t even giving us a cashier anymore, making us do all the checkout work ourselves, to my huge irritation. It’s no secret all Canadians - not just seniors - struggle with rising food prices. Hardly a novel idea, but why don’t we redistribute income more equally so people don’t need to get breaks to help them with the basics?
The gap is shocking - for example, Galen Weston Junior, the head of Loblaw, has a net worth estimated at $7.6 billion dollars, and reported earning a cool $11.79 million last year. Statistics Canada reports the median income for seniors in Canada in 2020 was $32,200.
The federal government recently announced grocery rebates for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians. Annual rebates are very modest though - $467 for eligible couples with children; $234 for single Canadians without children; and $225 for seniors, on average. The total estimated outlay - $2.5 billion.
It’s predicted the average family of four will spend up to $16,288.41 on food this year. The federal rebate doesn’t even offset half the estimated increase of $1,100 over last year.***
So keep your seniors discount, Shoppers, lower your prices for everyone, and let’s find a way to do better on income distribution.
* Loblaw is Canada’s largest food retailer and gobbled up Shoppers Drug Mart nearly a decade ago.
** The Internet tells me Shoppers has always had 65 as the age but many used 55 at their discretion. Most have moved to 65 now, without fanfare although I’m told some have chosen 60 as the critical age.
*** read this article for these stats.
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