shepd wrote: ↑I guess that must a city-by-city thing. Last time I went to a bag-charging grocery store here, not a single person I bumped into in the whole store (must have seen at least 100) had any bags with them, unless they kept them in their purses (doubt it!). The cashier was so used to asking if I wanted bags, she asked and interrupted herself when she saw the bags coming down the conveyor belt!
Maybe there's not fewer customers, but definitely none of them are bringing their own bags. The only reason I brought reusables is I've been too lazy to buy a few thousand direct from China for $20.
I know that at the grocery, I typically put my bags at the bottom of the basket I'm using and throw the groceries on top. My gf has a tiny reusable bag (like these: http://www.chicobag.com/t-homehalloween.aspx) that folds up to about half the size of your fist, and keeps that in her purse. So it's possible that people had them and you just didn't see them, but I've definitely seen lots more people with reusable bags on the conveyor belt.
Also, I've been finding that if you give the cashier your bags at a place that normally bags your stuff, they will use the reusable bags. I would venture that it's easier for them as those bags are bigger than your typical plastic and you can put more inside as they don't break. Recently I've had the cashier bag my stuff at Loblaws (St Clair West station), Wal Mart (Dufferin Mall), Sobeys (St Clair/Jane), and Zellers (Galleria Mall). I guess it depends on the store. The only place I used a bag from the actual store I was shopping at was Loblaws, because I mostly have PC cloth bags for some reason.