Canadian seniors are wealthier than ever. Do seniors' discounts still make sense?

In the States, even though the economy is booming (lie), people can't get the groceries they need, even with hunting for discounts. They discount foods that are horrible for you nutritionally. Good wholesome foods just keep getting more expensive. The food industry is manipulating the prices so that with each discount they raise the prices somewhere else. It keeps getting worse and worse each week. We have started stock piling good foods when they are reasonably priced. Our menus have narrowed down to a few nutritious dinners, and our lunch is pretty much the same every day, unless we can afford to eat the leftovers.
 
Discounts for people that need them make sense to me but the question is how do you determine need.

Some people of all ages genuinely need help and many others appear to need help because they don’t properly manage the money that they have or the ability to distinguish needs from wants.

I suppose that I would prefer to eliminate discounts in favor of everyday low prices and allow the government to administer food stamps and other benefits intended to help low income people of all ages.
 
I don't believe this. Why should it be in Canada much better than in Germany?

In Germany a lot of seniors are collecting bottles from the waste baskets for the refund (8 cent per glass bottle, 25 cent per plastic bottle). There is a huge gap between the rich seniors (mostly public officials) and the majority of the normal workers.
From Wikipedia (translated by deepl.com):
Internationally, Germany's expected pension level (as a percentage of net income) was well below the OECD average at 50.5% in 2017. Croatia (129.2%) and the Netherlands (100.6%) even have a higher pension level compared to net income. They are followed by Portugal (94.9%), Italy (93.2%), Austria (91.8%), Hungary (89.6%), Bulgaria (88.9%) and Luxembourg (88.4%). The EU-28 average reached 70.6%, the OECD average 62.9%.
Parity contribution rates for employees and employers, as in Germany, are the exception. As a rule, the employer's contribution rate is higher.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Meanwhile (in 2024) the German pension level is only about 48 per cent.
 
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A senior discount is just like any other sale. It’s just a way to advertise to get people into the store. They know shoppers will spend more than for the things they went for. They’d be foolish as store owners to get rid of it. Two stores with the same product I need, or at least think I need, I go to the one with the discount.
 
I'm in the U.S.. I'm doing worse than my mother and stepfather did. With all the cats I'm feeding and everything going up, I'll take anything I can to save a dime.

I do feel bad for younger people, many feel they can't buy a house. I know Canada is expensive and per a live feed on a Canadian cat rescue I follow, a poster said that Cananda is not pet friendly for renters which is very disappointing to hear. I don't know if this is Canada wide. My town is pet friendly for many complexes. About the only nice thing I'll say.
 
I’ve long thought Senior Discounts exist because many people will not hire Seniors, because many Seniors are living off of savings, and if they live to be 100, or even 90, which more and more are doing, saving 10% on fast food can help.

It’s all fine and good to accuse 100% of Seniors of being wealthy - not factual, but it’s an opinion - but you also have to point out that unlike the Youngers, not all companies are eager to hire Seniors. So how do Seniors replace those savings dollars they spend? Many cannot and know that’s how it works.

On the other hand, most all companies are eager to hire the Youngers.

But Seniors also eat during the off-peak times. While others are rushing off to work, the Seniors are meeting to have cheap coffee at McD’s. When others are stuck in traffic, or taking the kids to afterschool stuff, Seniors might use the Senior discounts at Denny’s and eat out early on a weeknight.

The discounts are good for business, so businesses tend to like them.
 
Thinking the wealthy Canadians should pitch in a few percent each to help out their southern neighbors. After all we do let their high school hockey players play with our pro teams and share the revenue.
 
Grampa Don said:
Discounts based on age never made sense to me. Age has little to do with financial situation. A lot of older people are struggling. But, so are a lot of younger people. In a perfect society, we would share our wealth and no one would go hungry or sleep in the cold. We aren't there yet and probably never will be.
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That's not how things work.

"Senior discounts" are a marketing ploy, intended to draw in additional customers and buy loyalty. They are also useful in leveling traffic: idle time periods can be filled by senior customers, making it easier to afford to have staff work full shifts.

This is just Retailing 101... and taking every opportunity for holier than thou preaching here is getting pretty old.
 
dilettante said:
That's not how things work.

"Senior discounts" are a marketing ploy, intended to draw in additional customers and buy loyalty. They are also useful in leveling traffic: idle time periods can be filled by senior customers, making it easier to afford to have staff work full shifts.
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I agree with dilettante. Senior discounts have nothing to do with good will trying to help seniors, it's simply a marketing tactic to draw customers.
 
C50 said:
I agree with dilettante. Senior discounts have nothing to do with good will trying to help seniors, it's simply a marketing tactic to draw customers.
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It works to get me in the stores. When I get in there, I have this bad habit of spending. I wouldn’t be there except for the draw of the sale.
 

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