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A group of consumer defense organizations accused large supermarket chains
such as Kroger and Albertsons, and others in the United States, of digital discrimination.
According to the organizations Consumer Action, Consumer Reports, Consumer World, National Consumers League and PIRG, these types of stores leave out of their digital offers, commonly known as digital discount coupons, millions of older adults and low-income people .
Digital discount coupons are increasingly common among large stores of supermarkets; however, due to lack of internet connection or lack of technical knowledge, millions of people with assistance are excluded from those discount prices, the coalition of organizations said in a statement.
“It is digital discrimination and the most vulnerable people are being excluded of these online discounts at the worst possible time given record inflation,” explained Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumer World.
Food prices have skyrocketed in recent months due to inflationary increases, only in the report last September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that they increased by 13% in its annual comparison.
In the last two inflationary reports, the most recent in October, in which inflation stood at 7.7% in its highest annual edition, food prices were at the top of the products that contributed the most to the annual price increases.
Faced with this scenario , consumer advocacy coalitions sent letters to stores like Kroger and Albertsons to urge them to find alternatives so that these vulnerable groups can take advantage of the discounts supposedly created for them.
“Large supermarkets should provide an offline alternative to their digitally disconnected customers, so they can get the same savings that connected shoppers enjoy”, added Dworsky.
The wave of digital offers grows
It is increasingly common for supermarket chains in the United States to launch their discount promotions on staple foods
such as meat, fish, chicken and other agricultural products, only through “online only” offers.
However, in order for buyers to take advantage of these discounts, they need to have an internet connection or, at least, a smartphone with which to have access to digital offers.
The problem is not minor, details the coalition of pro-consumer associations, since the 39% of seniors in the US do not have internet access , while 43% does not have a smartphone, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
But not only that, but data from this same research center also indicates that
43% of low-income households in the country does not have a broadband internet connection.
And an even more serious fact is that one in four buyers, even if they have internet access, does not know how to access digital discount coupons, simply because they do not have the technical capacity to use a grocery store website or app, according to a recent Consumer World survey.
Discounts resulting from digital coupons can provide good relief to needy families or seniors, as they generate Significant savings of $9 to $13 dollars in beef or turkey, which they end up paying because they can’t access the digital discount coupons.
The chains to which it was sent a la carte are: Kroger, Albertsons, Stop & Shop, Star Market/Shaw’s; Ralphs, QFC, Jewel Osco, Randalls, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Smart & Final and Safeway.
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