Kroger is under investigation for allegedly misleading customers by displaying expired sale prices on shelves and then charging full prices at checkout.

The second largest grocery chain in the US is accused of using this tactic in at least 14 stores across 14 states and Washington DC, as reported by The Guardian US and Consumer Reports.

During ‘secret shopper’ tests conducted in March, April, and May, over 150 items were found with outdated discounts displayed on shelf edges, which were not applied at the register.

This produced an average 18 percent markup on the items found, according to the report. 

But some items jumped by as much as 60 percent.  

On average, the expired discount tags were two weeks out of date, meaning that thousands of Americans could have ended up spending more than they expected on items they thought were discounted.

It comes as consumers are feeling the pinch with high grocery prices as well as the prospect of substantial price increases on everyday items as a result of Trump’s tariffs. 

Food prices have rose 24 percent between 2020 and 2024, according to the US Department of Agriculture. 

Kroger grocery stores are overcharging customers by listing expired sales prices on their shelves only to ring up the full price at the checkout, a new investigation has found

Kroger has more than 2,700 stores making it the second largest grocery chain in the US 

The sneaky sales tags often don’t clearly state that a discount offer has ended, the investigation found. 

At other times the expiration dates are only noted in corporate code or in very small print. 

While some shoppers catch the price increase at the checkout, many busy consumers do not recognize the uplift, union officials and Kroger workers told the researchers. 

‘It really makes me feel bad because some of them are on fixed incomes and they’re older. They’re not going to pay attention,’ Joy Alexander, a Kroger worker from Denver, told the Guardian and Consumer Reports. 

‘They think that when they took it off the shelf, it was $2.50. They don’t know that they’re paying $3.75 for that one item.’ 

Other examples cited by the investigation include personal pizzas which were posted as on sale for $1 a piece which rang up for $1.25 each, and an 8oz jar of minced garlic listed at the low price of $2.49 which cost $3.99 at checkout – a 60 percent jump.

Kroger’s pricing strategy has been the subject of numerous customer complaints both directly to the company and to state attorney generals.

In October a Kroger customer wrote to Ohio’s attorney general stating that their experience at the grocery chain was ‘outrageous.’ 

An investigation from Consumer Reports found hundreds of mispriced items at Kroger stores

Consumers are already stretched after years of inflation and now tariff-related price hikes

Kroger’s acting CEO Ronald Sargent took over at the grocery store last month 

‘We just spent $121 for two seniors for a week’s groceries,’ the customer argued, adding that they were overcharged $8.07 on a frozen turkey. 

‘We shop there regularly and three out of five times we have to correct them on prices.’ 

In a statement provided to DailyMail.com a spokesperson for Kroger said the ‘allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions. 

‘It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing,’ they added. 

This is not the first time Kroger has been investigated over sneaky pricing tactics.

Last year US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey investigated the supermarket over concerns its electronic price labels were being used to raise and lower prices in accordance with demand. 

Kroger’s planned takeover of Albertsons was also stopped by a legal challenge from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because of concerns it would eliminate competition and raise prices for consumers.  

During a court hearing Kroger admitted to raising the cost of essential items more than was needed to keep pace with inflation. 

The grocery chain’s top pricing executive testified to a judge in August last year that the store raised the prices of milk and eggs more than required.

‘On milk and eggs, retail inflation has been significantly higher than cost inflation,’ executive Andy Groff wrote in an email to his bosses in March that was used as evidence in court.

The company also made headlines in March when former CEO Rodney McMullen unexpectedly resigned over ‘personal conduct.’

Bosses refused to give details beyond saying that it was ‘unrelated to the business’ and ‘inconsistent with Kroger’s policy on business ethics.’ 

Lead director Ronald Sargeant was appointed interim CEO in the wake of McMullen’s departure.