Sale fail? Shoppers Drug Mart called out in tampon price comparison

Sale fail? Shoppers Drug Mart called out for discounted tampons costing more than Walmart's regular price

concernedgoverworker /Reddit

Shoppers Drug Mart is once again catching heat for price gouging, and this time it involves on-sale tampons that are still more expensive than the same regular-priced item at Walmart.

A Reddit user posted a photo of the tampons in question in the r/loblawsisoutofcontrol forum.

Shopper’s “sale” prices on tampons are still 4$ more than Walmart’s
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“Shopper’s ‘sale’ prices on tampons are still $4 more than Walmart’s,” wrote the Redditor in the post.

The photo shows a sale on U by Kotex boxes containing 45 tampons, down from $17.49 to $14.79.

A quick search on Walmart Canada’s website shows the same tampons regularly priced at $12.98 — which is $1.81 cheaper than the sale tampons at Shoppers.

Walmart’s tampons are also on sale under the store’s “roll-back” pricing, available for $10.88 online, which is $3.91 cheaper than its competitor’s lowest price.

Walmart/ Screenshot

Shoppers also listed the boxes of 16 tampons on sale from $8.29 to $5.49.

Walmart lists the regular price of the smaller box as $5.99 when purchased online. Although 50 cents higher than Shoppers’ discounted price, the Walmart tampons are still $2.30 cheaper than the drug store’s regular price.

Walmart/ Screenshot

Folks in the comments had a lot to say about Shoppers with some commentators calling its pricing “absurd” and others suggesting they start taking their business to Walmart instead.

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One Redditor noted that menstrual products shouldn’t be this expensive to begin with, arguing they “should be free” for those who need them.

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Other commenters said they had switched over to a more sustainable and cheaper menstrual cup option to save money on period products.

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Some felt that the price difference is because Shoppers is a “convenience” store and Walmart is a big-box general merchandise store.

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Shoppers Drug Mart has come to be known as the most expensive of Loblaw’s arms, with higher pricing than both competitors and other stores under the same parent company for medication, first aid supplies, personal care products, and more.

The drugstore has recently caught flack for its “outrageous” prices on everyday items like hair elastics, makeup removal pads, and hair brushes.

With files from Blog TO’s Becky Robertson.

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