Good news, Canuck shoppers. U.S. clothing retailer Express, Inc. announced it has carried out its move to parity pricing for Canadian consumers.
“The company's progressive at-par pricing ensures that consumers across North America can enjoy the same shopping experience and value, regardless of geographical location,” the retailer said in a press release.
Express has 11 Canadian stores, and plans to open up to 50 more in the future. Its first Canadian store opened in 2011, and at that time Michael Weiss, now the company's chairman and CEO, said prices would "be on average a low double-digit [per cent] higher than in the U.S."
“We have costs that are very measurably higher and that is a fact of [doing business in Canada],” he said, according to the Financial Post.
As more U.S. retailers expand their businesses north, price parity remains an issue in Canada.
Target’s recent arrival in Canada was met with reports that the stores were comparable with Wal-Mart, but exceeded prices in U.S. stores.
A recent report identified a number of reasons why Canadians often pay higher prices than U.S. consumers, including tariffs and higher input costs, to name a few.
Last year in a HuffPost Canada article, experts also pointed out Canadians don’t shop as aggressively as American consumers, and even noted a perceived willingness to pay more in Canada.
