Grocery stores are moving to digital price tags: are they harming consumers?
Former JPMorgan Chase chief economist Anthony Chan reacts to Kamala Harris saying it will be her Day One priority to bring down prices despite already being in office on Varney & Co.
A pair of Democratic senators are probing grocery store chain Kroger over the use of digital price tags known as electronic shelving labels (ESLs) citing concerns it could enable «dynamic price gouging.»
Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote a letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen seeking «further information to better understand the justification for and risks of electronic shelving.» They warned that, «Dynamic pricing allows corporations to price gouge and suddenly raise the cost of goods without warning.»
«Large grocery chains such as Walmart and Kroger have claimed that dynamic pricing through ESLs benefits consumers by freeing up time for employees to assist customers. However, these devices also introduce the potential for grocery giants to abuse their power and surge grocery prices, raising prices suddenly and at times when certain products are in the highest demand,» Casey and Warren wrote.
«The increased use of dynamic pricing will drive company profits higher – leaving consumers with the bill,» they wrote. «It is outrageous that, as families continue to struggle to pay to put food on the table, grocery giants like Kroger continue to roll out surge pricing and other corporate profiteering schemes.»
ELIZABETH WARREN APPLAUDS FTC'S 'SANDWICH SHOP MONOPOLY' PROBE OF SUBWAY ACQUISITION
Sens. Casey and Warren wrote to Kroger to raise concern about the potential use of digital price labels to engage in «dynamic price gouging.» (Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Casey and
Read more on foxbusiness.com
