Harris Presidential Campaign Takes Aim at High Food Prices
While it is a hot-button topic this election season, inflation is showing signs of slowing. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that overall inflation rose just 0.2% in July following June’s first decline since May 2020. The year-over-year rate, meanwhile, came in at 2.9%, the lowest rate since March 2021.
Politicians have been keeping a keen eye on grocery prices over the past year, most recently when U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) sent a letter to Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen questioning the retailer’s use of electronic shelf labels.
Warren and Casey expressed concerns about what they deemed dynamic pricing from Kroger and other American grocers. “Widespread adoption of digital price tags appears poised to enable large grocery stores to squeeze consumers to increase profits,” they wrote. The politicians also sounded a cautionary note about “sensitive consumer data,” through the use of cameras on ESLs displays.
Kroger first launched ESLs in 2018 and has expanded usage to more U.S. locations in the ensuing years.
However, Kroger maintains that its pricing methods are ultimately shopper-centric and can benefit the overall market in a number of ways. “Kroger’s business model is to lower prices over time so that more customers shop with us, which leads to more revenue that we then invest in lower prices, higher wages, and an even better shopping experience. Everything we do is designed to support this strategy, and customers are shopping more with Kroger now than ever because we are fighting inflation and providing great value,” a spokesperson told Progressive Grocer in an email. “Any test of electronic shelf tags is to lower prices more for customers where it matters most. To suggest otherwise is not true.”