
Report: Some Kroger stores overcharged for groceries despite advertised discounts
Consumer Reports, along with other news organizations, found the typical Kroger shopper 'unknowingly paid full price' on more than 150 items marked as discounted or on sale at stores across the U.S.
Working with The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network, Consumer Reports found that Cincinnati-based Kroger overcharged on items ranging from meat to cereal to instant coffee. On average, the overcharge was $1.70 per item or more than 18% above the sale price.
The investigation began after Colorado Kroger workers alleged widespread pricing errors during labor union negotiations. Derek Kravitz, an investigative reporter with Consumer Reports, wrote that the workers say the overcharging goes back years and is a problem "that Kroger is well aware of."
'Our findings suggest the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying far more for what they think are discounted items — all during a time of inflation and economic uncertainty,' Kravitz wrote.
Food prices have increased nearly 24 percent since 2020. In recent years, Kroger has reported record sales and profits along with a strong stock performance.
Shoppers recruited by Consumer Reports checked sales tags at 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores in March, April and May. Expired labels led to overcharges on 150 grocery items.
A spokesperson for Kroger, meanwhile, pushed back on the report. 'The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions,' according to a Kroger spokeswoman. 'It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.'
A reason cited for pricing errors, according to Kroger employees, is that there's not enough staff to change out shelf price labels.
Consumer Reports, citing data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), found Kroger has 'significantly cut the number of workers in most of its stores and the number of hours those full- and part-time employees work each week.'
Across the country under the Kroger Co. umbrella, stores include Kroger stores, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry's and Ralphs.
While some customers sought price adjustments for the errors, a couple in Ohio also filed complaints with their state's attorney general's office.
Kroger customers in California, Illinois, Ohio and Utah, the report said, have filed class-action lawsuits alleging pricing errors.
There are 103 Kroger locations in Indiana, according to the chain's website. Of those, 24 are in Indianapolis.
Indiana law prohibits businesses from making misrepresentations during consumer transactions. The attorney general's office can investigate allegations of violations of Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. IndyStar has emailed Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's office for comment.
Responding to the report, a Kroger company representative stated that the company is 'committed to affordable and accurate pricing.'
Kroger told Consumer Reports that it regularly price checks 'millions of items weekly to ensure our shelf prices are accurate.'
The grocer also said the price tag errors cited in the report were 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,' the company told Consumer Reports.
In addressing price issue, Kroger also has in place its 'Make It Right' policy. The policy allows employees to address and fix pricing issues on an individual basis.
In a statement, Kroger said its 'Make It Right' policy addresses any situation when we unintentionally fall short of a customer's expectations,' the report said.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Investcorp: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot
NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Investcorp Credit Management BDC, Inc. (ICMB) on Tuesday reported a loss of $434,000 in its fiscal fourth quarter. The New York-based company said it had a loss of 3 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for investment costs, were 4 cents per share. The specialty finance company posted revenue of $4.5 million in the period.


Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Lawsuit of Natick couple harassed by eBay can go to trial, judge rules
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Barring a settlement, the four-year-old lawsuit could go to trial later this year or early next year. Saris has repeatedly said at hearings that she wants to complete the proceedings as soon as possible. Advertisement Wenig, who received $57 million of severance when he left the company a month after the Steiners were harassed, was not criminally charged in the case and has said he did not know about the effort to terrorize the couple and would have stopped it if he had. Attorneys for the eBay and Wenig did not immediately offer comments on the ruling, which was issued after business hours. Advertisement In a statement, Andrew Finkelstein, a lawyer representing the Steiners, said the couple looked forward to a trial. 'The jury will be asked to fully and fairly compensate the Steiners for being subjected to eBay's terror campaign that attempted to silence their free speech rights, and to punish eBay for their egregious actions,' he wrote. In the ruling, Saris wrote that a jury would need to decide if the company was responsible for approving the actions of lower-level employees who conducted the harassment, a legal issue known as ratification. Based on text messages and alleged conversations, Saris determined a jury could find that eBay's former chief communications officer, Steve Wymer, may have 'ratified the conduct' of former security official Jim Baugh, the for his role. A jury would also need to decide whether Wenig, Wymer, and another former executive named Wendy Jones were negligent in supervising Baugh or participated in a conspiracy against the Steiners, Saris ruled. Those claims could be critical to the case because Saris ruled last year that the Steiners could seek punitive damages — $467 million of the amount they are seeking — only if they prevailed on charges of emotional distress or conspiracy. In her Tuesday ruling, Saris also trimmed some of the roughly $62 million the Steiners are seeking for other damages. Saris also dismissed charges that the company had defamed the couple. The judge also dismissed charges against a Nevada-based security contractor that worked for eBay called Progressive Force Concepts. Aaron Pressman can be reached at

3 hours ago
Trader Joe's to open 1st location in New Orleans
The new store will open Thursday, Aug. 14. 0:56 Trader Joe's is bringing its store to a new community. The California-based grocery chain announced Monday that it will open a new location in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 2501 Tulane Ave., marking its debut in The Crescent City, according to a press release. The grand opening is set for Thursday, Aug. 14, at 9 a.m., with the store open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 'Please join Captain Rachelle and Crew for the Grand Opening Celebration,' the announcement read. 'We look forward to seeing you!' Colette Wharton, regional director and asset manager at The Feil Organization, the real estate company that owns the land the location sits on, called the opening a proud milestone for both the company and the community. 'Bringing the first Trader Joe's to New Orleans is not just a milestone for the vitality of the Tulane Avenue corridor -- it's a proud moment for the Feil Organization after years of collaboration and a meaningful win for the entire community,' Wharton said in the release. 'From day one, our goal was to unlock the potential of this premier location to deliver lasting value to the region. The arrival of Trader Joe's is a testament to that vision, and we're incredibly grateful to our exceptional planning, design, construction, and development partners for helping bring it to life.' The New Orleans store will be Trader Joe's third in Louisiana, joining locations in Metairie and Baton Rouge.