88% of Polled Shoppers Want Publix to End Florida-Only BOGO Rule

Eighty-eight percent of more than 3,000 respondents to a USA Today Network-Florida online poll want Publix to run its buy-one-get-one deals in Florida the same way it runs them in other states.

The difference is concrete. Outside Florida, Publix BOGO means a shopper buys one item and gets the second at 50% off. In Florida, the customer must purchase two items at full promotional terms for the deal to apply. Publix has not said why the rules differ by state, and customers are pushing the Lakeland, Florida-based grocer to align the offers.

Some readers told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that the two-item requirement forces them to buy more than they need. Several complained the extra purchase leads to food waste.

One reader described tracking Publix promotions through YouTube deal guides and seeing the Florida caveat repeated week after week. "I watch YouTube content creators in Georgia and North Carolina who produce videos each Wednesday morning sharing the best deals in the new [Publix] ad and reporting the digital coupons and rebates that attach," the reader wrote. "They always say, 'Remember Florida shoppers, you must purchase two items.'"

The BOGO dispute is the latest policy flashpoint for Publix. Last month, the grocer announced it dropped the 10-item limit for express checkout lanes. Publix said the change reflects its focus on reducing wait times and serving customers as efficiently as possible, so express lanes are now open to shoppers regardless of cart size.

Earlier in the year, Publix also appeared to pull back from a permissive stance on firearms in its stores. After posting signage saying the retailer would follow Florida state law on the issue, Publix seems to have reversed course. The grocer now asks that only law enforcement officials carry firearms on Publix property.

The poll numbers put measurable pressure on a chain long known for customer loyalty. If Publix responds as it did on express lanes and firearms policy, a single-price, half-off-second-item BOGO in Florida could follow — but the grocer has made no announcement to that effect.