TikToker calls out high prices at store known for being cheap
Shoppers may no longer be surprised to come across appallingly inflated prices on the shelves of some supermarkets, but our sky-high food prices sting especially badly when they’re found at stores that consumers turn to for their budget-friendliness.
Dollarama is one of these retailers, and while it is not a grocer proper, more and more people have been turning to the brand for its low-cost consumables.
Unfortunately, though, like at virtually every other Canadian chain, people are noticing that Dollarama has become far more expensive than it used to be.
As the Canadian company celebrates a very successful fiscal quarter and a surge in sales — which it attributes to “the relevance of our value proposition and business model in a challenging macro-economic context” — shoppers are bemoaning what some might call false advertising given the dollar store’s name.
“They should rename it from Dollarama to Expensiverama,” one customer captioned a new TikTok video in which he scours the shelves holding a single dollar, sadly finding nothing that he can buy with his loonie.
@danielospinaagurrie They should rename it from Dollerama to Expensiverama! #expensivelife #canadaisbroken #removetrudeaufromoffice ♬ Super Mario Bros. – Overworld – 8-Bit Arcade
In the clip, we see a set of clothing hangers for $2.50, dish soap for $3.25, chocolates for $3.50-$4, cups and tumblers for $4.50-$5, and items such as holiday lights and cleaning spray for $5 each.
“Why they even call it Dollarama if everything increased,” he continues in the comments section, something that a few others seem to agree with.
A video from earlier in the year wondered if anything at Dollarama is truly a dollar anymore, calling out inflation and potential price-gouging, while multiple posts from 2022 showed the retailer’s prices already rising.
Some also allege that they’ve been charged a different amount than the sticker price on some items as price adjustments are rolled out at their local outpost.
Dollarama prices should not be the same price or more expensive than the grocery stores. At what point does it stop. Shrinking items and selling them as the same price of the regular items pre-covid is madness
— PeaNUT ButtAhh (@_sexMONEYmurdaa) November 9, 2023
Even if consumers feel like the store’s prices have been increasing since before runaway inflation really hit its stride, Dollarama’s CEO did confirm a new $5 price point for the brand this fall.
He also just warned the public that both food and non-food items at his store and others will be climbing even more in the near future due to increased fees on their end.
“Retailers are doing their best not to push those costs on to the consumers, but retailers can only absorb so much,” he said, per the Canadian Press, last week.
I’ve seen prices more expensive at dollarama than superstore.
— . (@a_ldnont) December 13, 2023
Though it’s true that a Dollarama haul is still far easier on one’s wallet than a trip to Loblaws, it, No Frills and other discount retailers that have been a boon during this time are clearly not immune to grocery inflation.