HOUSTON – There’s nothing wrong with discount shopping, but there is an issue when shoppers pay full price for items advertised as “on sale.”
According to an investigation by Consumer Reports, shoppers at Kroger have been inadvertently paying full price at checkout for produce, including meat, vegetables, juice, rice, and alcohol, that has been advertised as discounted.
Recommended Videos
After a monthslong investigation, the Consumer Report, along with The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN), began checking grocery prices after learning that Kroger workers in Colorado alleged widespread errors on price labels. They claim this has been an ongoing problem for years, one that Kroger is aware of.
Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery chain, has also faced scrutiny from state inspectors for high rates of price tag errors. The company has defended itself against multiple class-action lawsuits alleging pricing errors filed by customers in California, Illinois, Ohio, and Utah, according to Consumer Reports.
READ: Which grocery store gives you the best deal? Here’s what we found at Walmart, H-E-B and Kroger
During the investigation, 26 people were recruited to shop at Kroger and its subsidiaries, including Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, and Ralphs, across 14 states and the District of Columbia in March, April, and May.
The shoppers reportedly found expired sales labels that led to overcharges on more than 150 grocery items, including Cheerios cereal, Mucinex cold and flu medication, Nescafé instant coffee, boneless beef, salmon, and dog food. According to Consumer Reports, one-third of the expired sales tags were outdated by at least 10 days, and five of the products had expired tags that were at least 90 days old.
The average overcharge identified by Consumer Reports was $1.70 per item, or 18.4 percent. These findings suggest that the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying significantly more for items they believe are discounted.
KPRC 2 reached out to Kroger and received the following statement:
“The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions. It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.”
Kroger also responded directly to the Consumer Report:
“Kroger is committed to affordable and accurate pricing, and we conduct robust price check processes that reviews millions of items weekly to ensure our shelf prices are accurate. The complaint noted by Consumer Reports included a few dozen examples across several years out of billions of customer transactions annually. While any error is unacceptable, the characterization of widespread pricing concerns is patently false.
“Kroger’s “Make It Right” policy ensures associates can create a customer experience and addresses any situation when we unintentionally fall short of a customer’s expectations. Connecting regular technology upgrades and our “Make It Right” policy to price accuracy is incorrect.
“It is also inaccurate to say the company reduced standards or labor hours. We have not done so, and in fact, the standards we set in 2017 remain the same today.
“We intentionally staff our stores to keep them running smoothly while creating an enjoyable place to shop. Our staffing decisions are data-driven to balance workload and schedules.
“For nearly two decades, Kroger’s business model has been rooted in bringing down prices to attract more customers to our stores – and this is not changing. We respect our associates and our customers, and we conduct our business accordingly.”