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Walmart and Costco Wholesale may soon be required to provide information on why their grocery prices are so high.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan is pushing for an inquiry into the ongoing surge in grocery prices that started during the Covid-19 pandemic and that remains a hot topic in this year’s presidential election.
On Thursday, during a virtual public meeting hosted by the FTC and the Department of Justice, Khan said the probe would “shed light” on why prices and profits at grocery chains “remain so high even as costs appear to have come down.”
“We want to make sure that major businesses are not exploiting their power to inflate prices for American families at the grocery store,” she said.
Khan plans to formally ask the FTC to launch an inquiry, but the process will only proceed if the commission votes in favor of it. Should the inquiry gain approval, the agency would require big grocery chain operators to provide information on their sales, costs, and profits for commonly purchased items.
Among those that fall under that umbrella are retail giants like Walmart, Target, Amazon (Whole Foods’ operator), and Costco.
In March 2024, the FTC published a report which found that the three biggest grocery chains – Amazon, Kroger, and Walmart – raised food prices and gained a hefty profit due to pandemic-led supply chain snarls.
The agency’s efforts come at a time when grocery prices have soared by roughly 25% in the last four years, outpacing the rise in consumer goods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Last week, the FTC said it was investigating several large companies to see how their use of customer data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are being used to set personalized prices for individuals.
The agency’s efforts also come as FTC Chair Khan has been at the center of conversation between Republicans and Democrats. Khan, known for her tough antitrust stance, has opposed big mergers and launched investigations into major companies (including Kroger’s $25 billion bid to buy Albertsons). Although progressives support her, many tech and Wall Street figures have been pushing for her removal.