Buyer beware: Bill for Winnipeg grocery delivery $80 higher than pick-up

A Winnipeg woman is urging online shoppers to be cautious when opting for their groceries to be delivered to their home.

Chanelle Gordon, a single mom without a car, recently tried the Real Canadian Superstore‘s grocery delivery service, said she paid more than she had anticipated.

“It was like a punch in the gut,” Gordon described her experience.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was like a punch in the gut," Gordon described her experience.

The in-store and flyer prices she had intentionally shopped for weren’t honoured, as they typically are when she uses grocery pickup option.

Gordon said she had seen her estimated total of $266, which she was ultimately billed, after filling up her online shopping cart. However, she expected that to change to about $180 after the sale prices were entered at checkout.

“The toilet paper, which was $28.50 … it was on sale for $12.98,” she said.

She still has text messages from her shopper, advising her of the best sale prices while he was picking out items for her order. She approved additional sale items, as it was her understanding that whatever her shopper paid, she would be billed, with a small service fee and a tip on top.

Gordon had checked the fine print on the website for any warnings of sale items not being included when grocery’s are delivered, which she said wasn’t there.

“I feel hustled,” she said. “I was not aware that they don’t honour sale or flyer items. Had I known that … I would have definitely picked up my items.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I feel hustled," she said. "I was not aware that they don't honour sale or flyer items. Had I known that … I would have definitely picked up my items."

Loblaws, which owns the Real Canadian Superstore, pointed the finger at delivery service Instacart, saying Instacart’s model doesn’t support discounts from sales.

“As Instacart is a third-party provider, its pricing model does not support in-store sales and coupons. There are, however, sales and promotions that are available on Instacart that may not be available in-store,” a spokesperson said.

However, they said customers who use Superstore’s app and in-store pickup get sale prices.

Instacart confirmed people who use their pick-up service are not given store discounts.

“Our retail partners work with Instacart to set the prices of products available for delivery via the Instacart platform,” said a spokesperson.

“Although in-store discounts may not be available via Instacart, we do offer exclusive coupons for select items exclusively through our marketplace.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Although in-store discounts may not be available via Instacart, we do offer exclusive coupons for select items exclusively through our marketplace."

When asked why Gordon’s shopper was texting her about in-store deals when Instacart doesn’t honour them, the spokesperson invited Gordon to contact them directly.

“If she reaches out … we’d like to look into this more fully and make any necessary corrections.”