Kroger, Albertsons and Stop & Shop have all been criticized for leaving shoppers out in the cold over big savings – are you concerned?

A GROUP of grocery retailers have been slammed for keeping shoppers in the dark about savings.

Kroger, Albertsons and Stop & Shop are among the stores accused of using “digital only” promotions that don’t cover their entire customer base.

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Now consumer groups have reached out to the chains to make these promotions available to all shoppers.

They cited the fact that customers who have smartphones and internet connections receive “digital only” discounts.

These types of discounts often need to be downloaded into a loyalty or specialty app.

But many low-income and older shoppers may not have access to these resources.

“It’s digital discrimination, and the most vulnerable people are being left out of these online rebates at the worst possible time in the face of record high inflation,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumer World.

“Large supermarkets need to offer an offline alternative to the digitally disconnected ones so they can achieve the same savings that connected shoppers enjoy.”

Dworsky quotes 2021 Data from the Pew Research Center which found that 39 percent of consumers over the age of 65 do not own a smartphone and 25 percent do not use the Internet.

Last week, Consumer World joined several other consumer organizations to send a letter to the three companies, Smart & Final, and other individual regional companies. Supermarket News reports.

Consumer World argued in the letter that the digital-only coupons could also be confusing for customers — especially ones that have to be downloaded and saved in a loyalty program.

A survey conducted by Consumer World found that nearly a third of 950 shoppers could not explain how to find and use the digital offerings.

“We believe that the use of digital-only offerings, as many chains have implemented them, may constitute an unfair action under the Federal Trade Commission Act and similar state laws,” the letter reads.

Albertson has issued a statement claiming to be working to resolve the issue.

“While we primarily offer [special pricing for loyalty members] Through our website or our “for U” banner store app on a smartphone, many of our stores also allow people who may not have digital access to present the weekly circular at checkout so the discounts can be applied,” the shared company with.

“We will continue to provide in-store support to users of the rewards program to ensure they receive the best possible experience and prices.”

The US Sun has reached out to Albertsons, Kroger, Stop & Shop and Smart & Final for comment.