Kroger ending delivery of sale ad to homes in Michigan communities
A recent announcement on the front of Kroger's ad delivered to many homes in Michigan may disappoint some shoppers.
"Your weekly ad is going digital" is the headline notice posted on the April 19-25 ad right below the sale prices for Cosmic Crisp apples at 99 cents a pound and whole pork shoulder for $1.29 per pound. (Kroger's latest ad received at this food writer's home for this week has the same message.)
More: Cannabis facility offers jobs to more than 400 laid-off Burger King workers
More: Higher living costs force Americans to cut back on retirement savings, survey says
That's right. The weekly grocery paper ad from the Kroger Company of Michigan that many people rely on for price comparisons and what's on sale may soon no longer be delivered via mail to homes in some areas.
More: Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters opens new location in Ferndale
No more grabbing and flipping through the ad checking out what's on sale. No more planning your shopping by looking through the ad. No more hunting checking on what is or isn’t a deal.
“Beginning May 28, we’ll no longer deliver printed weekly ads to your home” according to the current ad.
In an email to the Free Press, a Kroger Co. of Michigan spokesperson wrote:
"As The Kroger Co. of Michigan continues to create a simple, convenient grocery shopping experience, we are discontinuing the delivery of our weekly ad in some locations. Customers can still access the same great savings through kroger.com or the Kroger app. Customers can choose to continue receiving the ad at their home by calling 800-576-4377."
In some areas delivery of Kroger Co. of Michigan ads has already ceased.
While a paper copy of the flyer will still be available at stores, Kroger’s announcement directs customers to create a digital account using a provided QR code.
For Kroger customers like Sharon Broshear of Brownstown, that's disappointing.
“I like looking through the circular and planning my weekly shopping from it,” Broshear said. “I go through it and mark what’s on sale and decide whether it’s a good price.”
But Broshear added, she also uses the Kroger app if she happened to toss the sales flyer out.
Jolyn Felten, administrator/owner of bargainstobounty.com and Bargains to Bounty Facebook page, believes she hasn't received a Kroger paper in a while. Felten's website and Facebook page follow grocery store sales and offer advice on ways to save at grocery stores.
"While I don't mind because I can view the ad online, I do think that it would affect those customers who aren't comfortable accessing the information online (elderly, those without internet, etc)," she said. "I know paper ads are available in the store, but it isn't the same."
A post from this reporter on the Bargains to Bounty Facebook page about the practice ending drew mixed comments. Some people were sad that it was ending and said it wasn't good for seniors, others commented that they hadn't received a paper ad in the mail for some time. Several commented that Kroger's app wasn't useful while others use the app.
Edgar Dworsky, founder and editor of the Consumer World website based in Massachusetts and longtime consumer advocate, called it "inconvenient."
“This becomes inconvenient for shoppers who, up until now, could do easy comparison shopping just by flipping the pages of competing stores' circulars at their kitchen table,” Dworsky wrote in an email. “It also leaves behind those folks without internet access or smartphones.”
Dworsky also wrote that Kroger seems to be following an industry trend due to the high costs of printing and distribution. He also noted that stores want to "accustom shoppers to using their online digital resources.
In March, the Giant Eagle grocery chain made a move to stop delivering its weekly ad paper to its consumers in Pittsburgh, according to Supermarket News. Months earlier Giant Eagle stopped mailing the ad papers to consumers in Cleveland and central Ohio markets.
More: Westland police chief resigns
More: Retirement savings taking a hit thanks to inflation
But according to a recent CBS Pittsburgh news report, Giant Eagle will resume mailing a new weekly circular to Pittsburgh-area customers starting May 2. Giant Eagle did not return an email sent late Tuesday afternoon seeking comment.
Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. is one of the country’s largest food retailers. The company ranks fourth on Progressive Grocer's 100 list in 2022 of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. In 2022 its sales reached more than $148 billion, up 5.2%, according to its annual report. In Michigan Kroger has 119 stores.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kroger ending delivery of sale ad paper to homes in some areas
