Canadian Shoppers Could Be Regularly Losing Money Due To 'Grocery Receipt Errors'

If you've noticed the cost of your grocery bill is going up in Canada, you're likely not the only one.

And, although the cost of living is incredibly high right now, you may be paying more than you have to week after week.

A recent report from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University found that 67% of Canadians have noticed mistakes on their grocery bill in the last year — which means you could be losing out on even more money.

Published on March 21, the report found that more than 5,500 Canadians noticed discrepancies between the price of a product on the shelf and their final bill over the last 12 months.

In fact, as many as 78.5% of respondents said there were differences between the final receipt price and the shelf price, with many shoppers paying more than they expected on their final bill.

The research suggests that one of the most common issues is that daily discounts or "take home tonight" offers are often not applied at the checkout to perishable items like bread or meat — despite stickers that suggest a discount.

Some shoppers (31.4%) also say their bill has been incorrect due to cashier mistakes, such as items being accidentally scanned more than once.

In other instances, Canadians report being over-taxed on products, paying an incorrect amount due to incorrect pound-to-kilogram conversion rates, and the price on the shelf not matching the scan-through cost.

The report highlights the importance of checking receipts before leaving grocery stores — something some Canadians currently don't do.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, the Agri-Food Analytics Lab's director, told Global News that this is essentially "leaving money behind."

“The average consumer can save up to $50, $60, $70 a year just by looking at receipts and potential mistakes," he said.

He added that searching for bargains in a grocery store is just "an illusion" if you don't check your receipts, as you could be unknowingly paying more than you have to.

Charlebois says that pausing after you've paid and checking your receipts can "allow you to save and make sure that you’re paying for what you’re actually getting."

The research also found that around 16% of shoppers do not complain or react after realizing there were errors on their grocery store receipts, however, it can pay to speak up.

As of 2002, most major grocery stores in Canada subscribe to the Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code which dictates that when a scanning mistake is found on a bill, the grocer must offer either a $10 discount or give the item for free (if it costs less than $10).

Among the stores that support this code are Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Costco, Giant Tiger, Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart, to name a few.

The full list of stores that subscribe to the code can be found online.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.