This Business
Sucks
June 2025 – Kroger | Winner
The large grocery chain is a repeat winner of a Bad Business Award but for new and different reasons. Previously, one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers was cited for using supply chain “disruption” as cover to charge higher prices. They have stumbled into a new way to get that job done.
Every grocery chain posts special discounted prices on an ever-changing number of products on the shelves. But what happens when the sale ends and there is no one to change the price shown on the shelf? Shoppers get over-charged.
The problem became acute at Kroger last quarter. What we know from Consumer Reports is that “shoppers at Kroger, have been unknowingly paying full price at checkout for scores of items—from meat and vegetables to juice, rice, and alcohol—that have been advertised as discounted or on sale…”
The investigation brought on a lot of people to help by shopping at various Kroger locations and sister brands then comparing the prices advertised and the prices charges.
According to Consumer Reports findings, “The shoppers 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. One-third of the expired sales tags were out of date by at least 10 days, and the prices of five of the products were expired by at least 90 days. The average overcharge we found was $1.70 per item, or 18.4 percent.” Clean up on aisle six, indeed!
The retailer offered that the problem was real but far more limited than the survey identified. Kroger also said the problem was one of too few staff. Another aspect of the business in the total control of the company, so while that may be explanatory, it is not exculpatory.
Past winners
Paul Weiss, Kirkland & Ellis
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Southwest Airlines
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Frontier Airlines
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