This simple new label is helping Canadians steer clear of U.S. products
In Canada, President Donald Trump’s trade war has had an immediate effect on shoppers, many of whom are opting out of buying American products in protest. Some Canadian stores are even taking steps to make it easier for them to do so.
In a survey conducted this month by market research firm Leger, 68% of Canadians said they’ve reduced their purchases of American products in stores and 65% said the same of their online purchases. Additionally, 71% of those surveyed said they’ve increased their purchases of products made in Canada.
With tariffs set to inflate the price of goods produced internationally, “made-in” labels that note a product’s country of origin have become more important than ever. It’s led some retailers to experiment with new ways to inform shoppers about locally produced goods, like this black star that denotes European brands currently being used by one European grocery store operator.
Sobeys, a supermarket chain based in Nova Scotia, launched an in-store “So Canadian” promotion backed by a patriotic TV commercial to highlight the chain’s commitment to Canadian-made products that it labels with a maple leaf. Loblaws, a chain headquartered in Ontario, has done the same, and it created a specific “Prepared in Canada” page on its website for online shoppers who want to buy only domestically made goods.
Last week Loblaws said it will also begin adding a triangular “T” label to products that are pricier due to tariffs. Retailers faced consumer wrath when pandemic-era inflation set off a seemingly endless rise in prices, and the chain’s “T” label is a way to communicate to consumers why items now cost more.
“It’s simple: When customers see a ‘T’ on the price tag they know it has been directly sourced from the U.S. and impacted by tariffs,” Loblaws CEO Per Bank wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “Customers can be assured that when tariffs come off, any tariff pricing changes will be entirely removed.”
Bank noted that Loblaws is “pro-Canada and not anti-USA,” saying that the chain has “many trusted U.S. vendors,” but the updated labels reflect that the store is being responsive to the needs of its customers.
“Because of the tariffs imposed from the U.S., the Canadian government has been forced to put a range of retaliatory tariffs in place, on roughly $30B worth of goods . . . like poultry, dairy items, fruits and vegetables, and more,” he wrote. “This will unfortunately have consequences.”
No doubt one of those consequences will be U.S. brands taking a hit to their bottom lines.