Kroger-Giant Eagle merger raises surveillance concerns
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Kroger's $1.65 billion acquisition of regional grocery chain Giant Eagle could mean higher prices, worsening labor conditions and an expansion of corporate surveillance, according to a new report from the American Economic Liberties Project.
Why it matters: Giant Eagle is a dominant player in Northeast Ohio's grocery market, trailing only Walmart in market share as recently as 2024.
- The acquisition would give Kroger control of its stores and, perhaps more importantly, its customer data.
The big picture: Kroger operates roughly 2,700 stores nationwide, compared with Giant Eagle's 197 supermarkets across five states.
- The deal is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory clearance, and the combined company would generate approximately $158 billion in annual sales, according to the AELP report.
Driving the news: AELP, a nonprofit think tank that advocates for antitrust enforcement, says that digital advertising and consumer insights have become more profitable than grocery sales.
- The group urges federal and state regulators to block the merger and to enact consumer data privacy protections like banning "surveillance pricing" and "AI price gouging."
Zoom in: The report identifies several concerns:
Surveillance: Kroger's privacy policy discloses facial recognition at select stores and Flock cameras that capture license plates and send information to local police departments.
- Kroger's retail data analytics operation generated an estimated $527 million in profit in 2024, according to Consumer Reports.
- Kroger has denied using electronic self-pricing labels for customer surveillance and dynamic pricing.
Competition: The situation is most pronounced in Columbus, where Kroger controls 43% of the grocery market. The merger would bring that figure close to 50%, reducing competition and potentially raising prices.
Workers: Fewer competing grocery employers could weaken workers' bargaining power, particularly in markets where the chains overlap.
What they're saying: "Kroger is turning grocery stores across the country into a corporate panopticon, and with every acquisition, it forces that surveillance on more Americans who have fewer places left to buy their food," report author Victoria Freire said in a statement.
The other side: Kroger has not responded to an Axios request for comment.