Grocery Outlet sued over deceptive pricing claims

Dive Brief:

Dive Insight:

The lawsuit claims Grocery Outlet had an ongoing practice of displaying "fabricated" price comparisons without clearly identifying the source of the reference prices, the lawsuit alleges.

The case claims Grocery Outlet violated Oregon state law by marketing items to in-state consumers with the claim of an "elsewhere" price comparison with a competitor that is not within the same geographic area. Grocery Outlet "systematically advertised grocery items with inflated or fabricated reference prices-purportedly representing competitor pricing-without identifying the source of those comparisons, as required by Oregon law," the complaint alleges.

"These deceptive practices created the illusion of significant savings, when in fact, consumers often paid the same or mor