‘Just give everyone the discount’: KIRO hosts back Seattle’s push to ban personalized grocery pricing

The Seattle City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a first-in-the-nation ordinance banning large grocery stores and delivery apps from using personal data to set different prices for different shoppers.

The ordinance, proposed by Mayor Katie Wilson and Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, would apply to grocery chains with more than 20 locations worldwide and third-party delivery apps. Grocers have argued the ban could threaten loyalty programs, but supporters say discounts would still be allowed as long as everyone meeting the same criteria gets the same deal.

Ursula Reutin, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, believes the ban is needed.

“We talked about how expensive everything is,” she said. “We don’t need algorithms to make it that much more expensive.”

Ursula said she doesn’t buy the grocery industry’s argument that the ban would jeopardize loyalty programs.

“I’m not buying the part about, ‘Oh, you know, this could really jeopardize our loyalty programs,'” Ursula said. “Oh, come on.”

A Consumer Reports investigation found that 39 people ordering the exact same groceries from a Seattle Safeway through Instacart were charged anywhere from $114 to $124. Only 8% got the lowest price, and the variation could cost a family up to $1,200 a year.

KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell said she supports modernizing pricing systems but not when it comes to food.

“The airlines will say we don’t do individual pricing, we don’t do identity pricing, but they absolutely do,” Angela said. “I get needing to modernize, but when it comes to food, I think we have to be so much more careful. The discounts aren’t worth it. The $0.50 off that you’re offering or $1, just give everyone the discount.”

Angela added that if Seattle passes the ordinance, it would be a rare example of the city getting policy right.

“A lot of times on the show, I mean, we’re not making it up, but they’re doing some really interesting things, and this would be a good thing,” she said. “The whole idea of banning them from using personal data to individualize prices.”

Kroger overcharging investigation adds fuel to the debate

Ursula also pointed to a separate investigation into Kroger stores in Ohio, where shoppers were overcharged nearly three times as often as they were undercharged. The Center for Responsible Food Business looked at nearly 400 inspections of more than 100 Kroger stores and found widespread pricing errors, usually in the store’s favor.

“Kroger is saying that this report is misleading and that it’s quickly correcting pricing problems,” Ursula said. “But this is also after a company executive admitted that Kroger raised milk and egg prices beyond inflation.”

KIRO producer Andrew Lanier said the way grocery stores structure their checkout process makes it even harder for shoppers to catch overcharges.

“You put in your customer card number at the beginning of the transaction, right? And it is not until you hit ‘pay now’ that all of your discounts show up at the very end of the receipt,” Andrew said. “Because they know if they show 10 supposed discounts at the very end, instead of right next to the price of what you just rang up, you’re likely to miss the one thing that didn’t show up for you.”

Ursula said the bottom line is simple.

“Don’t make the assumption that the prices are accurate,” Ursula said. “If you’re thinking, ‘Wait a minute, this mental math’s not mathing here,’ sometimes you do that, and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, that’s way more than I anticipated.’ Look.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.