Kroger quietly rolls out new controversial new price tag system
Kroger's new price tag system has faced controversy with how easy they are to change
Over the past few months, Kroger has been quietly rolling out electronic shelf labels (ESLs), which are digital screens that display an item's price. Since being implemented in grocery stores, these digital price tags have faced controversy.
Local stores with digital price tags are able to switch the prices on shelves seamlessly through a computer.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has found nearly a dozen stores implementing the new price tagging system in Kroger’s Cincinnati-Dayton division. However, the grocery retailer declined to say or acknowledge the use of the digital tags in the region, as reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer. As of right now, it’s unclear if any other Kroger stores across the country have implemented this new technology.
The electronic tags look very similar to the old-school stick-on ones; the price labels are in white plastic frames, but they blend in closely to the shelves and have the same look as printed price labels most consumers are familiar with.
In a conference call on Sept. 11, Interim Kroger CEO Ron Sargent told Wall Street analysts that the company would be proceeding to roll out ESLs in its grocery stores.
“Electronic shelf tags, we are rolling out across the company,” Sargent said in the call. “I'm not sure what percentage of our stores we have those in yet, but that is … improvement in speed.”
Kroger's technological expansion in grocery stores
This is the Cincinnati-headquartered company’s latest technological expansion in its grocery stores.
In 2023, Kroger introduced Cooler Screens, which are digital smart screens on the cooler doors so consumers can see what’s inside the cooler without opening the door. This was initially rolled out at 500 stores across the country, according to the press release.
This technology has also been launched in other major grocery chains, including Walmart, Whole Foods Markets, Amazon Fresh, Aldi, and Lidl.
In a 2024 report, The Food Industry Association found that “24% of food retailers surveyed are currently using Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) and 29% plan to use them in the future.”
The trade group says this technology will save an average store over 7,000 price tags a week, improve the in-person shopping experience, and increase the store’s efficiency.
People are concerned about the rollout of digital price tags
Skeptics of this new technology have raised concerns over possible price surging, raising prices during busy times, or even raising prices on groceries during emergencies.
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey sent a letter to former Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen in August of 2024, raising concerns about the potential to exploit customers through surging prices on the ESLs, as grocery prices have already been increasing.
“The increased use of dynamic pricing will drive company profits higher – leaving consumers with the bill,” the lawmakers said in their letter.
They also raised concerns about the digital technology collecting data about consumers, as the ESL devices were created in a partnership with Microsoft.
“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,” they wrote.