Kroger, America’s biggest supermarket chain, is being investigated over its use of electronic price labels on store shelves nationwide. US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey announced they were looking into the practice to see if the chain was engaging in surge pricing. So-called ‘dynamic pricing’ is common in other industries, such as flights, hotels and car-sharing services like Uber . It sees customers paying more or less depending on demand


There are multiple posts on lemmy about the stores switching to digital tags, some of which claim they will “save the customer money”, obviously an outright lie as the point is to make more money for the store.

Ex: https://lemmy.world/post/16718848 , https://lemmy.world/post/17161297

  • @AtomicTacoSauce
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    7427 days ago

    I think we can safely say there’s no turning back from this dystopian hellscape now.

    • @[email protected]
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      427 days ago

      Yes. Humans choose to allow other humans to suffer, over and over again. In fact, some of them make money from it, and then spend that money spreading the idea that it’s good for people to suffer because they’re not ‘normal’ (white, male, heterosexual).

      • @undergroundoverground
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        26 days ago

        I think you’re right but, also, we a tend to discount the effect of having the most greedy and sociopathic people in our society leading it and owning most of the assets.

        Not that you’ve said either way but I think that then gets confused with “human nature.”

  • edric
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    4927 days ago

    TIL Kroger is the biggest supermarket chain in the US. I thought it would be Walmart.

    • @slumlordthanatos
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      627 days ago

      Walmart is a retailer, because they sell basically everything, while Kroger only sells groceries. I think that’s the distinction they’re making.

      • @humorlessrepost
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        26 days ago

        My local Kroger sells clothes, has dressing rooms, has a pharmacy with a clinic, an attached gas station, and has a decent home goods section.

    • @[email protected]
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      -127 days ago

      I think most Walmarts don’t really sell groceries. Last time I lived near one, it didn’t have any produce, which is really the whole point of a grocery store.

      Didn’t Kroger just buy another chain, though? That might have been what made them the biggest.

      • @Voyajer
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        1127 days ago

        The div1 walmarts without a grocery are mostly phased out I thought? There are only supercenters (general store + grocery) and neighborhood markets (grocery only) in the adjacent states to me.

      • @[email protected]
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        1027 days ago

        Not yet. They are trying to merge with Albertsons which owns lots of local stores like Jewel Osco and Safeway. But they need the merger to be approved by the FDA before it can go through. Their case is supposed to be heard early next year. Let’s hope it doesn’t go through.

        • @coffeeffoc
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          1027 days ago

          Wouldn’t that be the Federal Trade Commission to make that determination?

      • @TrickDacy
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        927 days ago

        I haven’t seen a Walmart since like 1995 that didn’t have a fuck ton of groceries, including produce

      • @PalmTreeIsBestTree
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        327 days ago

        Neighborhood Walmarts are essentially a grocery store. So they do have dedicated grocery stores.

      • Mbourgon everywhere
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        327 days ago

        They are trying to buy Albertson’s. Which sucks since those are the two closest to me and one is far better than the other.

  • @[email protected]
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    3427 days ago

    Don’t worry, once Kreuger merges and becomes even bigger. All this anti-consumer behavior will disappear.

  • @irotsoma
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    27 days ago

    And with the Kroger/Albertsons merger likely imminent considering they announced all the stores in my city they’re going to close or sell off, it’s likely to become the norm and even if it’s deemed illegal, the fines won’t be enough to matter until they can pay to make it legal. It’s not like they can be shut down if they’re the only grocery stores.

  • @shalafi
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    927 days ago

    We keep giving them money and they keep fucking us over! What are we to do?!

    • @TommySoda
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      727 days ago

      Unfortunately some people don’t have a choice. The only grocery stores near me are Kroger or Albertsons. I have to drive over an hour to get any other options.

      But at the same time, even though I only shop for two, it might end up being cheaper to drive an hour and a half to Costco if shit keeps going the way it is. When you have to pay over $100 on less than a week of groceries, gas prices seem quaint in comparison.

    • @forks
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      427 days ago

      It’s only in southern California I think, so probably. I just left one to start school, and it wasn’t that bad. They were just starting to get much more serious about a greeting program, and they send secret shoppers to evaluate the workers a couple times a month, but that’s about it. It’s unionized, too, which is nice.

    • @TommySoda
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      227 days ago

      Sure this bot is annoying, but why is everyone down voting it? Am I out of the loop or something?

      • @zombaya01
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        427 days ago

        From what I remember is that the bias reports themselves are quite biased. I believe to favour pro-semitic media’s, but I’m not too sure about it.

        • @TommySoda
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          227 days ago

          I could see that. They do seem to favor specific websites. I understand the idea behind it but the execution is mediocre.