Most people wouldn’t be surprised to know that it tends to cost more when ordering groceries online than it does when buying the same groceries in store. But how much more exactly?
It’s often a mystery. So at least one state wants to change that.
Democratic New York State Assembly member William Magnarelli and five of his colleagues have introduced a measure that would require online grocery delivery services to disclose exactly how much more they’re charging you for the convenience of having your groceries delivered. It’s a revival of a bill introduced last year that never made it out of committee, so the lawmakers are trying again. And this time, they’ve made more progress – a companion bill was approved by a Senate committee yesterday and referred to the full Senate for a vote.
“Grocery retailers and service providers that offer the delivery of groceries shall clearly and conspicuously state any price mark-up on any product that is also offered in-store,” the bill reads. “The mark-up shall be disclosed on the website or mobile application page for each product.”
When ordering groceries online, you can see your total when checking out, and whether you’re being charged a delivery fee, service fee, convenience fee or some other extra fee. But you don’t often know how much of a fee is hidden in the price of each individual item. In many cases, you’re not just paying to have your groceries delivered, you’re paying more for your groceries and then paying a delivery fee on top of that.
“Prices and offers on ubereats.com and in the Uber Eats app may differ from prices and offers at the merchant, and can vary based on whether you choose to pick up your order or have it delivered,” Uber Eats explains vaguely. “While many retailers offer everyday store prices on Instacart, some retailers may set prices on the Instacart platform that are different than in-store prices,” Instacart explains, only slightly less vaguely. Shipt explains its pricing just a bit more thoroughly, stating that its “prices will vary slightly from store shelf prices to help cover the costs of picking, packing, and processing. For example, a loaf of Wonderbread costs $2.29 in the store and $2.59 to have it delivered to your door using Shipt.”
Except, in that example, the only price you’ll see online is $2.59. You’ll never know you could have gotten the same loaf of bread for $2.29 in store, unless you check with the store yourself.
That’s what the New York lawmakers want to change. If you’re already paying fees to have your groceries delivered, they reason, you should also know if you’re paying more – and how much more – for the groceries themselves.
Many grocery delivery services are already doing the opposite – instead of highlighting when a grocery retailer’s prices are marked up, they’re highlighting when they’re not. Instacart partners that charge the same in-store and online are highlighted with an “Everyday Store Prices” banner. DoorDash grocery partners are labeled with an “In-store prices” banner when they offer the same prices across platforms.
Of course, you’ll still pay delivery or membership fees. But at least those are disclosed, whereas you may never know exactly how much you’re paying for marked-up groceries.
In at least one state, someday you just might. Until then, just know that the convenience of having your groceries delivered will cost you – even if you don’t know exactly how much.
Image source: Shipt
