Kroger follows Target with new ‘chaperone’ shopping policy – and customers should now check their zip code

KROGER is limiting who can shop at select stores during the day after several disruptive incidents.

Teens won’t be allowed at a Kroger store between 6 am and 4 pm.

Getty

Getty

The Forest Park, Ohio store, about 40 minutes north of Cincinnati, will not allow minors in without an adult chaperone between those times.

Previously, Kroger limited the number of minors in the store at once to three, and they had to leave any bookbags in the lobby while they shopped.

The company cited “increased incidents of disruptive and inappropriate behavior in the store involving teenagers,” reports local ABC affiliate WCPO .

BUDDY SYSTEM

Similarly, several Target locations posted signs announcing all guests under 18 would need chaperones.

In August 2023, rumors spread that a Target store in Sacramento, California , was denying entry to unaccompanied minors.

Shoppers believed some local “bad apples” were the reason for the age limit, and put security guards in place to check IDs at the door.

One Washington DC store is inside a mall, which enforces the rule at all its stores.

Several Giant Food stores in DC and Maryland started banning minors after 6 pm.

The policy was implemented to curb theft, which has made business “unsustainable.”

“Retail theft in our market area affects everyone,” the retailer told Fox News .

“It limits product availability, creates a less convenient shopping experience, and, most critically, puts our associates and customers in harm’s way.”

All seven DC Giant stores and five in Maryland launched the rule on August 22.

The retailer also banned bags larger than 14 inches by 14 inches by six inches in select stores.

Shoppers with larger bags must tag them before entering the store and consent to a bag search when they leave.

Recent Kroger changes

The U.S. Sun regularly covers Kroger news.

Kroger’s Senior Director for Pricing admitted the chain increased the price of eggs and milk above the level of inflation .

The retailer has also been facing scrutiny over its proposed merger with Albertsons .

Kroger has doubled down on its promise to cut the price of food with a $1 billion investment.

Customers recently criticized the store f or having an “unacceptable” shortage of cashiers, which resulted in long lines .

PRICING WORRIES

Senators Elizabeth Warren, from Massachusetts , and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania are investigating Kroger’s use of digital price tags.

The two voiced concerns about surge pricing because of how quickly the tags can be changed.

Sometimes called “dynamic pricing,” this is when a company increases service prices based on real-time demand, like Uber or Lyft.

“Widespread adoption of digital price tags appears poised to enable large grocery stores to squeeze consumers to increase profits,” the letter said.

However, Kroger vehemently denied these claims and promised the company would lower prices over time.

“Kroger’s business model is to lower prices over time so that more customers shop with us, which leads to more revenue that we then invest in lower prices, higher wages, and an even better shopping experience,” a representative said to Fox Business .

“Any test of electronic shelf tags is to lower prices more for customers where it matters most,” the statement continued.

“To suggest otherwise is not true.”

Kroger pharmacy customers are going unmedicated as the system crashes.

Some shoppers said they’d boycott the store after the store wouldn’t honor a price tag .