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BUMPY RIDE
Kroger had to issue an apology to a customer who was overcharged at an Ohio location
- Matthew Aquino, General Assignment Reporter
WALMART'S rival Kroger is being investigated over its use of electronic labels across stores in America.
United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey revealed they are investigating the chain to see if they are currently using surge pricing.
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Surge pricing is the term for when a company raises or lowers the price of a product or service based on demand.
It's a technique used by a number of companies hoping to make a profit, including airlines, hotels, and most notably the car-sharing service Uber.
But when used for selling groceries - an essential product - it's more controversial.
Kroger is the largest supermarket operator in the United States and with nearly 3,000 stores across the country and 400,000 employees, any change in pricing could have a huge impact across the board.
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Warren and Casey wrote a letter to Kroger's CEO Rodney McMullen expressing concerns that the digital shelf labels would be used for price-gouging customers during busy shopping times.
Price gouging is when a company sells essential goods or services at a higher-than-normal price usually during a state of emergency or disaster.
Kroger began testing the waters with electronic shelf labels in 2018 and has since expanded the practice to over 500 stores across America.
The senators requested information from the chain on how it uses the tech and its justification, according to theCincinnati Enquirer.
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"These digital price tags may enable Kroger and other grocery chains to transition to dynamic pricing," Warren and Casey wrote in the letter.
"In which the price of basic household goods could surge based on the time of day, the weather, or other transitory events.
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"Allowing stores to calibrate price increases to extract maximum profits at a time when the amount of Americans' income spent on food is at a 30-year high," theletter read.
Warren and Casey continued to share their worries about grocery prices being "priced like airline tickets" with the new electronic shelf labels in place.
But Kroger has said they are looking to entice customers with lower prices to get them in the doors of one of their 2,750 locations across 35 states.
"Kroger's business model is to lower prices over time so that more customers shop with us," a spokesperson told Cincinnati Enquirer.
"Everything we do is designed to support this strategy, and customers are shopping more with Kroger now than ever because we are fighting inflation and providing great value.
Kroger's refund policy
Kroger shoppers can return items with or without a receipt.
All Kroger Co. Family of Stores can accept returns of items purchased at any location within 30 days of purchase.
Returns with receipts:
- Customers can use digital or paper receipts to get a refund
- The refund will be returned in the same payment method the purchase was made. Either going back on a card or handed back in cash
Returns without receipts:
- Customers wanting to return more than $10 will receive a store merchandise gift card for the value
- Customers who spent less than $10 will receive cash
"Any test of electronic shelf tags is to lower prices more for customers where it matters most. To suggest otherwise is not true."
Senators Warren and Casey are demanding answers though and expect Kroger to respond to them by August 20.
"It is outrageous that, as families continue to struggle to pay to put food on the table, grocery giants like Kroger continue to roll out surge pricing and other corporate profiteering schemes," the senators wrote in their letter to McMullen.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Kroger for comment.
Kroger is not the only supermarket chain appearing to engage in the method.
Its rival Walmart recently announced it would begin using electronic shelf labels in stores starting in June.
There has been no information released on whether they will also be under investigation.
Walmart believes the new shelf labels make a positive difference and give customers "an even better shopping experience."
The retail giant has revealed it helps save workers plenty of time when changing labels as before it took two days to change all of them.
KROGER MAKES MISTAKE
Meanwhile, Kroger has had to issue an apology recently after it accidentally overcharged a customer checking out.
Thegrocery store chainaccidentally charged sales tax on food items at some stores in Cincinnati,Ohio.
In Ohio, any food not consumed on-premise, including food bought at a grocery store, is exempt fromsales tax.
However, some customers noticed the chain charging extra on their receipt, Fox affiliateWXIXreported.
“We encountered an issue today in which customers were mistakenly charged sales tax on certain food items during checkout,” a spokesperson for Kroger said.
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“We resolved the issue and apologize for the inconvenience to our customers.
“The customer service desk or Kroger Customer Service at 1-800-576-4377 is available to assist customers who were charged in error for these products.”
