Time to invent The Shopping Mask.
this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
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Any kind of surge pricing by for profit companies providing basic needs should be illegal full stop
Any kind of surge pricing ~~by for profit companies providing basic needs~~ should be illegal full stop
Fixed that for you
Ralph's in SoCal used to be a midrange grocery store. These days, its prices are sometimes higher than Whole Foods! I feel like most large grocery chains are moving to a premium price point. They aren't interested in providing food for everyday families
Ralph's and Kroger are the same company, FYI.
I bet they are responding to the prices in the shopping services apps.
The high cost of being poor strikes again.
Kroger is the largest grocery store chain in the U.S. by revenue and owns a number of different brands, including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Pick’n Save, Food 4 Less, and Dillions, among a host of others
Kroger told Gizmodo... “customers are shopping more with Kroger now than ever because we are fighting inflation and providing great value.”
... or maybe customers don't have much of a choice ?
I live in a major city. The nearest Kroger is 2 blocks away. The nearest non-kroger is 7 miles away. And I have to drive past 3 Kroger's to get there. It's ridiculous.
“customers are shopping more with Kroger now than ever because we are fighting inflation and providing great value.”
I call shenanigans. I don't always pay close attention to the prices of all the things I buy, but one thing I do pay attention on is soda. (Probably because it's bad for me, so I give myself additional justification to buy it or not.)
And amidst all this "inflation", and all the talk about lowering prices back down to reasonable levels Kroger's price just on soda just jumped 25%.
Years ago I used to get a 12-pack for $5, and sometimes there'd be a 3-for-$12 deal. When COVID hit, it was 3-for-$15. Post-COVID, $7 a box. When they raised it to $8, I stopped buying it unless it's on sale or if my wife specifically requests it, and then I only buy one.
Then I went to Kroger a few weeks ago, and the only way to get a price under $8/box was to sign up for something on their app and sell them my personal information. So I decided not to buy from Kroger anymore.
This week my wife specifically requested a box, I was in Kroger anyway, and now it's $10/box or 3-for-$8. Fuck that. They hit their limit with me, and there are no circumstances in which I'm paying that much for soda.
Soda in general has increased across the board, but 12 for $8 is ridiculous since that's basically vending machine levels (I can find local vending machines for $0.75/can).
At Costco, I can get a 35-pack for about $18, less if it's on sale, which is still pretty expensive, but way less than the grocery store (basically ~$6/12-pack). Just a few years ago it was around $0.25/can, and now it's $0.50 in bulk, which is a huge shift.
2-liter prices are still pretty reasonable, so it seems the price increase is mostly for the packaging, not the product.
Fortunately, there's a competing brand in my area that's not under Kroger (or Walmart or Target), so I can easily avoid them. My local grocery isn't a mom-and-pop, but it doesn't extend that far outside of my state, so that's nice.
I go to Walmart and Food Lion because I worked for Kroger and I hate them.
Most of Kroger's other brands operate in areas where there isn't a Kroger. There's a tiny exception with Harris Teeter but it's mostly because it isn't profitable to change the signs, I guess.
If Walmart isn't trying to implement similar technology, I will be very surprised. They just haven't had to be public about it yet.
Cool, I'll continue not buying from them.
Who said AI was gonna put people out of jobs? Look here, a whole new industry of gig work where people can market themselves as "best buyers". Is your Kroger algorithm fucking you over with horrible prices? Not to worry, with a low low subscription fee, you'll have access to our best buyers whose meticulously curated profiles will buy your items for you with guaranteed lowest price every time. They'll even deliver it to your door for a small fee, or upgrade to our premium plus preferred plan for unlimited free deliveries. We also offer a comprehensive algorithm consulting service to help you reshape your algorithm for optimum purchasing power. Be the best buyer your can be ;) /SARCASM
This hits like a cyberpunk dystopia
I wouldn't be surprised if this became a reality in 10 years
I will be surprised if it isn't an established thing by then.
That is some Philip K Dick reality right there.
Everyone should enter these stores dressed up like it's Payday (the video game) until they stop with this facial recognition nonsense.
Yes facial masks, IR glasses, and hats at every store that does this
until they stop
They will never stop unless they are forced to stop.
They will choose to stop if it doesn't make them money. 😀
But yes, not allowing them to do this in the first place would be a very reasonable thing to fight for.
I'm going to get reflectacles. They're a little pricey, but they're much less itchy than balaclavas.
If someone hasn't made a 3D printable model for IR glasses I think I may make one this weekend.
With a model file, 20 cents of filament, a few LEDs, some wire, and a watch battery these could be made DIY for a few dollars after the printer cost. You can get a decent 3D printer for 200 bucks these days.
They won't be as stylish, but they'd do the job just fine.
Honestly, I don't want to manage a battery. I would maybe be okay with it if I could recharge it wirelessly (set it on one of those wireless phone chargers or whatever), but that's a bit outside DIY ATM.
But yeah, spending $100+ on glasses just to piss off some security guards is a bit steep. I'm at a point where I can absolutely afford it for the lulz, but that's a pretty big ask for the type of person who would be racially profiled away from the store. I wish I could just grab any pair of glasses ($10 or whatever) and spray on some kind of coating to get IR reflectivity. Maybe that exists, I just don't know enough about it.
But yeah, spending $100+ on glasses just to piss off some security guards is a bit steep.
not the security guards. they don't care about the, and this has nothing to do with security.
It's about breaking the automated tracking system.
And who reviews the anomalies?
Kroger and Safeway have been the absolute face of enshittification since the pandemic. They've also been accused of price fixing, and are trying to merge into a monopoly. They also regularly abuse disabled employees (at multiple stores in my area).
I have absolutely no doubt that they will do this the moment they think they can get away with it. In a fair economy, they would have been driven out of business years ago.
They also renamed a bunch of locations from Safeway > FreshMart and laid off career employees with years of raises and benefits and forced them to reapply under the new franchise name. Same owners, same stores, but LOOPHOLE.
Fucking assholes.
That's so dirty and unethical. I hope their conscience tortures them for years, but I realize that's wishful thinking since there is a good chance they've so completely repressed any concept of ethics or morality that they would sell their own mother into slavery for an extra tenth of a penny.
Looks like I'm finally going to have to start wearing the ol' anti facial recognition makeup
Broke: disrupting your appearance to confuse cameras
Woke: disrupting security cameras by carrying a hammer
(Disclaimer I know that's not really feasible for most people afraid of going to jail)
Curious to see if anti-recognition causes the prices to go down or up.
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