Is equipment that merges into the Druid's Wild Shape form weightless?

Question

Given that you have three option to merge any equipment on you into your Wild Shape form:

You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. [pg. 67 - PHB]

as well as potentially the following line:

Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form. [pg. 67 - PHB]

How is the weight of the merged equipment handled?

If you were potentially heavily encumbered using the Variant: Encumbrance rules [pg. 176 - PHB], would you negate this penalty temporarily by wild shaping, or is all that loot the Druid pilfered from the cave still being stored somewhere on the Druid's furry, bear body?

Answer 1

Take the rules at face value

The simplest answer is: it becomes part of the Druid while in the Wild Shape form, and returns to its normal condition (loot, equipment, whatever) once the Druid reverts to humanoid form. It otherwise has no other impact. (As written).

Is this a potential loophole or added benefit of the Wild Shape form? Yes. Is it game breaking or unbalanced? No.

How to deal with Variant Encumbrance

The simplest way to deal with that is to not have it have any effect, since all of that stuff/loot merges into the Druid's form. (As above).

For the DM that wants it to have an impact on the Druid, due to encumbrance's penalties on humanoid form, then the same movement penalty that applies to the humanoid Druid form could be applied to the Wild Shape form.

This is a DM ruling, either way, as are most things having to do with Variant rules.

Answer 2

In D&D 5e the words take their common English definitions:

effect

something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence

Whether it weighs nothing or has its original weight or becomes a supermassive black hole is irrelevant the equipment "... has no effect."