An investigation into several Kroger-owned grocery stores found that the brand may be overcharging customers using a sneaky mislabeling tactic.
Is Kroger mislabeling items to overcharge customers?
According to the Guardian, which partnered with Consumer Reports and the Food & Environment Reporting Network, several of the brand’s grocery stores routinely left up expired sale tags, only to charge customers more at checkout.
The investigation used secret shoppers and union grocery store workers in several states, who found that mislabeling resulted in overcharging in 14 out of 26 stores across 14 states and Washington, D.C.
A Kroger worker told the Guardian that many employees know about the issue and “feel bad” when customers don’t notice the discrepancy at checkout.
“They think that when they took it off the shelf, it was $2.50. They don’t know that they’re paying $3.75 for that one item,” a scan coordinator told the Guardian in an interview.
This isn’t the first time Kroger has been questioned about pricing practices. In August 2024, Kroger was investigated by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey for allegedly using electronic tagging to engage in “surge pricing,” or increasing the price during busy hours.
What do customers think of the overcharging claims?
In the comments of a blog by Cele|bitchy, Kroger customers said they also noticed pricing discrepancies.
“I take pics of the prices as I go. Then I argue. I’m in CO and it’s been ridiculous for a long long time. Just blatant,” one wrote.
“I think these places just count on most people not noticing. I won’t set foot in one. Luckily we have lots of other options. I feel for the people who don’t,” another said.
“I think this happened to me the other day! The total was more than I was expecting based on the listed prices, but I figured I was just remembering wrong,” a third shared.
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