Government inspectors found overcharging at more than one in three Kroger stores examined across nine Ohio jurisdictions, according to a report released Wednesday by the Center for Responsible Food Business (CRFB). Pricing errors favored Kroger nearly three times as often as they favored shoppers.

The report, titled "Kroger's Pricing Problem," pairs the inspection findings with nearly 2,000 accounts submitted through CRFB's Kroger Hurts Families campaign. Those accounts come from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Georgia. Customers, employees and suppliers describe pricing problems ranging from repeated overcharges to misleading sales and difficulty accessing advertised discounts.

The government records, obtained through public-records requests, cover 389 inspections from 2022 to mid-2026. Inspectors recorded 644 incorrect prices. Identified overcharges averaged more than 20% above shelf prices.

"People go to Kroger to feed their families, not to get ripped off at the register. Customers are telling us they have to photograph prices, challenge their receipts and fight for refunds," said Taylor Warren, president of CRFB. "When people need that kind of protection from their own grocery store, the company has failed them."

Key Findings

Repeated inspection failures. Fifty-eight of the 389 inspections in the Ohio records failed, according to the report.

Recurring overcharges. Of the nearly 2,000 submissions, 557 relevant accounts — 29% — described overcharging. Shoppers also reported confusion over Kroger's price guarantees and repeated trips to customer service to recover their money.

Misleading sales. Two hundred forty-seven submissions, or 13%, described misleading signage. That included fine-print purchase conditions and "sales" that shoppers said offered no real discount.

Inaccessible discounts. One hundred thirty-nine submissions, 7%, described difficulty obtaining digital-only prices. The accounts included concerns about seniors, disabled shoppers and people without smartphones.

High prices and limited alternatives. Forty percent of relevant submissions described high, rising or unaffordable prices. Eight percent alleged higher prices in areas where shoppers lacked alternatives.

"I have been overcharged too many times to count to the point where I just accept it," one shopper wrote in a submission.

Warren framed the financial stakes in direct terms. "When an overcharge goes unnoticed, Kroger keeps money the customer was never supposed to pay," she said. "Those extra dollars matter to working families trying to afford food. Calling it a pricing error does not make it harmless."

The report's findings span five states and four-plus years of inspection records, giving regulators, investors and shoppers a documented pattern to weigh as Kroger faces continued scrutiny of its pricing practices.