Kroger,
Walmart,
and
McDonald’s.
Beata
Zawrzel
|
Nurphoto
|
Brandon
Bell
|
Getty
Images
|
Kamil
Krzaczynski
|
Reuters
Expensive
Big
Mac
meals
and
fears
of
surge
pricing
at
grocery
stores
have
put
food
chains
and
consumer
product
companies
in
politicians’
crosshairs.
Walmart,
McDonald’s
and
Kroger
are
just
a
few
of
the
companies
that
have
found
themselves
in
the
debate
over
high
inflation
in
the
2024
election.
On
Monday,
Sens.
Elizabeth
Warren,
D-Mass.,
and
Bob
Casey,
D-Pa.,
sent
a
letter
to
Kroger
CEO
Rodney
McMullen
that
questioned
the
grocer’s
rollout
of
electronic
shelf
labels,
arguing
the
technology
could
make
it
easier
to
increase
the
price
of
high-demand
items.
The
letter
also
noted
that
the
supermarket
chain
could
become
bigger,
depending
on
whether
it
closes
its
pending
$24.6
billion
acquisition
of
rival
Albertsons.
Democrats
—
particularly
those
like
Casey
who
are
trying
to
win
races
in
competitive
swing
states
—
are
trying
to
capitalize
on
frustration
against
companies
over
inflation.
The
moves
follow
years
of
Republican
attempts
to
blame
the
price
hikes
on
President
Joe
Biden,
who
has
also
criticized
corporations
for
what
he
called
greedy
tactics.
For
instance,
an
X
account
run
by
House
Republican
leadership
criticized
Biden’s
economic
policies
in
late
May
by
listing
some
of
the
popular
fast-food
menu
items
that
customers
now
pay
more
for
at
McDonald’s,
Chick-fil-A
and
Taco
Bell.
(The
source
of
the
data
is
unclear,
and
McDonald’s
has
denied
that
its
average
prices
have
risen
that
much.)
On
the
presidential
campaign
trail
now,
both
Democratic
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
and
Republican
former
President
Donald
Trump
have
pledged
to
fight
persistent
inflation,
while
blaming
different
causes.
Harris
has
said
during
rallies
that
she’ll
fight
“price
gouging”
by
companies.
At
his
own
rallies,
Trump
has
criticized
Biden
administration
policies
and
said
he’ll
end
the
“inflation
nightmare.”
The
fact
that
both
parties
have
made
fighting
inflation
a
key
campaign
plank
shows
how
much
the
cost
of
food,
gas
and
shelter
is
on
the
minds
of
consumers
across
income
levels,
regions
and
political
parties.
The
criticism
could
also
add
to
the
pressure
companies
face
to
show
they
can
lower
prices
or
offer
value.
Inflation
has
cooled
from
decades-high
levels,
with
groceries
up
about
1.1%
year
over
year
as
of
June,
according
to
data
from
the
U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics.
But
food
at
home
is
up
26.2%
since
June
2019
and
food
away
from
home,
which
mostly
includes
restaurant
meals,
is
up
27.2%
in
the
same
period.
Americans
ranked
inflation
and
prices
as
their
most
important
issue
in
the
latest
The
Economist/YouGov
poll,
which
included
a
representative
sample
of
roughly
1,600
U.S.
adult
citizens.
That
was
ahead
of
other
themes
that
have
come
up
on
the
campaign
trail,
including
immigration,
climate
change
and
health
care.
Promising
to
tackle
higher
everyday
costs
is
a
safe
campaign
issue
during
contentious
times,
said
Cait
Lamberton,
a
professor
of
marketing
at
University
of
Pennsylvania’s
Wharton
School.
“There
isn’t
much
we
can
agree
on,
right?
But
we
can
agree
on
that,”
she
said.
It’s
often
tricky
to
make
a
case
for
how
a
policy
will
affect
voters’
lives.
That’s
not
the
case
with
the
cost
of
necessities.
“There’s
a
very
nice,
easy,
causal
connection
between
voting
for
a
person
and
believing
my
grocery
bill
can
go
down,”
she
said.
McDonald’s,
Walmart
face
price
criticism
Kroger
was
only
the
latest
high-profile
company
named
in
political
rhetoric
around
inflation.
McDonald’s
found
itself
in
a
tough
spot
in
late
May.
Several
viral
social
media
posts
criticized
the
burger
giant’s
affordability,
from
an
$18
Big
Mac
meal
at
a
Connecticut
location
to
charts
that
alleged
the
chain’s
prices
had
more
than
doubled
over
the
last
five
years.
Republicans
latched
onto
the
controversy,
tying
a
jump
in
McDonald’s
menu
prices
to
Biden’s
economic
policy
in
a
bid
to
win
over
voters
fed
up
with
inflation.
The
post
on
X
did
not
criticize
McDonald’s
for
the
hikes.
In
response
to
the
uproar,
McDonald’s
U.S.
President
Joe
Erlinger
wrote
an
open
letter
and
released
fact
sheets
on
the
chain’s
pricing.
It
was
a
big
step
for
the
company,
which
typically
handles
rumors
or
negative
press
with
a
succinct
statement,
not
a
13-paragraph
letter
from
a
top
executive.
McDonald’s
said
the
actual
average
prices
for
a
Big
Mac
or
a
10-piece
McNugget
are
up
21%
and
28%,
respectively,
over
the
last
five
years
—
significant
increases,
but
much
less
than
described
on
social
media.
“I
fully
expect
the
prices
at
your
local
McDonald’s
to
be
an
area
of
conversation
and
focus
in
the
coming
months,”
Erlinger
wrote,
obliquely
referring
to
the
election
cycle.
Several
senators
have
also
slammed
Walmart,
the
nation’s
largest
grocer
by
annual
revenue,
and
Kroger,
the
nation’s
largest
supermarket
operator,
for
adopting
technology
that
could
make
food
even
pricier.
In
their
letter
sent
on
Monday,
Warren
and
Casey
said
Kroger
already
has
high
profits
and
questioned
why
it
needs
electronic
shelf
labels,
which
allow
“dynamic
pricing,”
a
practice
associated
with
airlines
and
Uber’s
surge
price
increases
based
on
high
demand.
“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,”
the
senators
wrote.
Sen.
Sherrod
Brown,
D-Ohio,
who
is
running
for
reelection
in
an
increasingly
red
state,
sent
a
similar
letter
to
Walmart
in
May
raising
concerns
about
its
own
adoption
of
shelf
labels
that
could
make
it
easier
to
use
dynamic
pricing.
Casey,
Brown
and
other
senators
in
competitive
races
have
also
criticized
snack
makers
for
“shrinkflation,”
decreasing
the
size
of
items
but
charging
the
same
amount.
A
Walmart
spokesperson
said
the
retailer
won’t
change
its
“everyday
low
price”
approach
and
pointed
to
some
of
its
back-to-school
deals,
including
a
basket
of
food
that
provides
two
weeks
of
kids’
lunches
for
about
$2
per
day.
Kroger
did
not
say
how
it
will
use
the
electronic
shelf
labels,
but
the
grocer
said
in
a
statement
that
keeping
prices
low
“is
the
foundation
of
our
strategy.”
“Lower
prices
attract
more
loyal
customers
who
help
us
grow
our
business,”
the
company
said.
Wharton’s
Lamberton
said
to
fend
off
criticism,
companies
must
do
a
better
job
explaining
why
they
have
increased
costs
or
renegotiate
with
vendors.
They
also
have
to
tell
their
story
better
in
ads,
she
said.
For
example,
as
families
get
ready
for
the
first
day
of
school,
Amazon
and
Walmart
have
advertised
school
supplies
that
start
at
25
cents.
Amazon
has
run
TV
commercials
with
cheeky
messages
that
encourage
parents
to
spend
less
on
their
kids.
Companies
lean
into
value
Over
the
next
two
weeks,
many
of
the
country’s
biggest
retailers
including
Walmart,
Home
Depot
and
Target
will
report
earnings.
They
may
also
defend
their
prices
and
stress
the
ways
they
are
creating
value
—
following
in
the
steps
of
some
restaurants.
For
example,
on
Chipotle‘s
earnings
call
in
late
July,
CEO
Brian
Niccol
denied
that
the
chain
had
told
workers
to
put
less
in
burrito
bowls,
but
said
the
company
would
reemphasize
generous.
Like
McDonald’s,
Chipotle
was
targeted
by
social
media
furor
—
but
over
portion
sizes
rather
than
prices.
For
its
part,
McDonald’s
is
extending
its
$5
value
meal
in
most
U.S.
markets.
It
debuted
the
promotion
in
June,
soon
after
it
faced
social
media
criticism,
which
underscored
consumer
perception
that
its
prices
were
too
high.
Other
fast-food
chains,
like
Wendy’s
and
Taco
Bell,
have
also
introduced
or
revived
their
own
$5
value
meals.
While
the
primary
purpose
of
the
deals
is
to
boost
sales,
they
have
an
added
bonus
of
keeping
heat
off
their
brands
in
case
politicians
look
for
another
“greedflation”
target.
Those
deals
have
been
prompted,
in
part,
by
business
realities:
Consumers
broadly
have
pulled
back
their
restaurant
spending
in
recent
months.
