I am an unrepentant fan of Shoppers Drug Mart: as Canadian Tire is to Armor All, so is Shoppers to shampoo, toothpaste, soap: they own the category.

Yet I’d held out until this week on the PC Optimum (née Optimum) loyalty card: my relationship with Shoppers, I thought, was more than that. Deeper. Longer-term. I didn’t need the promise of points to bring me in, as our love was pure, organic.

But I caved. Vertical integration did me in: Shoppers is now a branch of the Loblaw Companies, the parent that owns the Atlantic Superstore. I’ve been shopping there at least some of the time, prompted by their delivery offer, and could only stare at the empty “Enter PC Optimum number” field door so long until I caved.

So I’m in. Loblaws can track my purchases of pubic desiccant as well as my purchases of Ace Bakery baguettes and apply AI to prompt me with tasty offers for fava bean chips.