Kroger unveils AI-powered automatic price gouger.
Kroger unveils AI-powered automatic price gouger.
Kroger, the US’s largest supermarket chain, has been rolling out AI-powered “dynamic pricing” — hooked to cameras on its display shelves. Since 2018, the chain has been using digital price labels t…
Yeah, the investigation writes itself. Have a few people with widely verying demographics come in and buy the same things, compare prices and see who gets overcharged for what. If you work for a news agency publish the findings. If you don't, post a blog and make memes.
Ideally, this would eventually lead to state micromanagement of price regulation the way some food staples are, but on everything. Or a new wave of anonymous shopping.
I believe in the UK, and maybe here in Australia, the laws are simple.
-
There must be a price label on the shelf
-
The price label must have a secondary price per 100g/100ml/100 units, to help consumers judge value and combat shrinkflation when a 325g can of beans is $x but a 4pack of 125g beans is $y.
-
The price the consumer is charged at the counter must be the same as the price on the shelf, not higher or lower.
Colesworth still try to pull a fast one on consumers in other ways with loopholes, but generally we know the maximum that we'll be paying at the counter.
IANAL but I do have a fair handle on consumer rights in the UK.
In the UK the price displayed is "an invitation to treat". There are other laws requiring the price stated being the price paid, ie it must include all taxes etc. Prices per unit seem to be an industry "lol" sorry "best" practice here, rather than legislated for - it is a bit randomly applied.
If you keep your wits about you, you can do real comparative shopping. For example: in Somerset, Somerset produced Brie is cheaper in Tesco than French Brie. I can't remember if French Cheddar is cheaper than Somerset Cheddar or even if it exists. Obviously, there is the brand thing too to consider.
Anyway, the "invitation to treat" is not a binding contract. It is only a form of introduction to one. You see the price and might think OK, I like that and take the item to the check out. If the item was miss priced the shop may try to amend it. If you pay for the item then you are considered to have accepted the invitation to treat, the bargain is made and related duties are discharged.
That's sort of the central doctrine behind how you flog stuff for money hereabouts. There are lots of fluffy consumer related legislation to try and ensure it is all fair but in my opinion, no one has bothered to teach us proles about how a sodding contract is formed. All that extra legislation would be no longer needed if everyone understood ... where they stand!
It doesn't help when you hear stories of firms required to honour ridiculous prices due to silly accidents. You do not get to buy a Dyson Funky Biscuit Crumb Sucker 1000 for 20p because you Sno Pake'd out a few decimal places or an employee answered a phone call mid reprice. You get the idea.
Invitation to treat (price tag): £10.99 for a bottle of wine (with a £9.49 Tesco card offer price writ large) Go to check out: £10.99 - 1.50 (but we get to suck on your data, sorry you get a discount via your Tesco brand loyalty card) Pay: £10.99 now and get a £1.50 rebate as a voucher that only works at Tesco, probably. The voucher will expire in three weeks time.
Here the contract was successfully formed. A good was transferred from Tesco to you for ... some money and you might be 1.50 better off too. All a bit murky. That's why we have consumer legislation and why you and I need to now what on earth it is and how it protects us.
-
Kroger stores used to be my go to because they were cheaper than Safeway. But Jesus Christ they are working together or something now because it's all the same exact pricing.
Now It's WinCo and trader Joe's all the way for me.
I got news for ya bud... Kroger is Safeway now. They bought em in 2022.
Trader Joe’s is great except for produce and union busting
And the fact that they steal recipes from small businesses and rebrand them.
Don't take my word for it, here's a decent piece on the subject from Taste.
Doesn't Kroger own other branded stores too? I just can't remember which ones.
Fuckloads. Lots of local big names get bought out all over the US.
How as a shopper would you ever reliably know the price of anything you buy if the price can change between picking it up and taking it to the checkout?
It's one thing if they change prices daily before the store opens, but mid shopping?
Our glorious high-tech AI-powered future will apparently include everyone dressing for the cameras to aim for better prices when they're out shopping, trying to look as if they're poor and cagey but not a shoplifter.
Unsurprising. Kroger treats its customers like criminals.
Must treat their employees like that too. The one by my house only has like five people working at a time.
As soon as this happens I will immediately close my account and start making the longer trips to winco.
Fuck that bullshit. I'm glad there aren't any Kroger near me so avoiding them will be easy.
Kroger owns a few chains outside of their main name so here's a short list of their sub-companies to avoid as well:
"* Supermarkets – Kroger, Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market, Mariano’s
- Multi-department stores – Fred Meyer
- Dillons Marketplace, Fry’s Marketplace, King Soopers Marketplace, Kroger Marketplace, Smith’s Marketplace
- Price-impact warehouse stores – Food 4 Less, Foods Co"
From here: https://www.thekrogerco.com/about-kroger/our-business/grocery-retail/
Thanks for the list!
Microsoft insists that these “smart shelves” will “delight the shoppers.
What parallel universe do the people who write this stuff live in?
Fucking Loblaws installed these too recently and it pisses me off. Luckily there's lots of nice Asian grocery stores opening up lately.
I absolutely love the last line in this story.
Milkshake duck incoming lol
Permanently Deleted
Kroger customers unveil powerful customer choice by not shopping there.
Cool now I can social engineer your fucking ai to give me better prices. Eat my entire ass, Kroger, Walmart, and supervalue
If you're good at it you can teach a course.
This sounds illegal
K-oger