Massachusetts May Eliminate Individual Price Tags on Food Next Week
A bill abolishing the requirement is now before the governor.
By next Thursday, Massachuetts could become the last state in the union to abolish a law requiring individual price tags on all food items.
Instead of having the prices marked on every item, as has been the law since 1987, grocery stores could install aisle price scanners every 5,000 square feet that would display the prices of scanned items.
Passed by the House in May and by the Senate – with only two senators in session – on Monday, the bill is on Gov. Deval Patrick's desk awaiting his signature or veto by July 5.
The bill, called "An Act relative to clear and conspicuous price disclosure," has been strongly supported for years by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, who argue that the current system creates less accurate pricing, lowers the level of service for customers and raises consumer prices at checkout. They point to an Emory University study that reports consumer prices are 10 percent higher when "antiquated item pricing laws" are in place.
Furthermore, the advocacy group says, Massachusetts grocers are hurt by the competition with border states, which do not have laws requiring individual price tags on all items.
But the law is not without its critics: “We hope that the Governor realizes the importance of the current price disclosure law to consumers, and at a minimum that he amends this anti-consumer bill to be more protective of the shopping public,” Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG’s Legislative Director, wrote on the group's website.
Cummings claims that price scanners have proven to be highly inaccurate, but the Retailers of Massachusetts say the opposite is true.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Deval Patrick said he is reviewing the legislation and has not yet made a decision regarding it.
What do you think? Will this change your shopping experience or expectations at all?
Michael Boznikoff
9:23 am on Monday, July 2, 2012
Does this proposed change apply only to canned and packaged goods or does it also apply to packaged meat. Also, does this eliminate the marking of the shelves and do away with the cost per pound comparison figures that are posted on the shelves to help decide which items are the best value.
And does anyone really believe that everyone who carries three items to the scanner to compare prices is really going to put the two items not chosen back where they were found.
Alphanaut
11:15 am on Monday, July 2, 2012
It's nice to see our fearless lawmakers working on something as life changing as individual package pricing. Its unclear how this is going to make it easier for us to compare prices, or how "consumer prices are 10 percent higher when antiquated item pricing laws are in place." Am I to understand that the price we pay is about to drop 10 percent, more likely prices are going to increase to pay for scanner installation and maintenance.
Mike G
7:54 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
This proposed law only does away with the individual price tags that are put directly on the products. The shelf tags with unit pricing are not going anywhere. As someone who has worked in retail for over 12 years, I can tell you the labor hours an labor cost involved in having to price every food item on the shelf does in fact cause an increase to store cost and as such an increase in the cost to the consumer. If you were to go to the same store on opposite sides of the border between MA and any other state there is a price difference partially due to the labor cost involved in pricing. And the scanners in the aisles at most retailers are accurate. They are required to be tied into the same server as the registers therefore they pull the item information and pricing from the same computer the registers pull from. So in essence the scanners are a simplified register for checking prices.
Charlestown joe
8:33 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Hopefully, someone like apple will break out with a "ap" to scan the bar code so you can use your smartphone,
A simple one not like the ones they have out there now!
Mum22
8:39 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Stop & Shop already has such an app! I use my phone to scan items, check prices and tally my total. It replaces the self-scanner.
Charlestown joe
11:55 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Mum22
Thanks for the info, I always use their scanner when I go there..
This will make it easier..
Jay
10:22 am on Thursday, July 5, 2012
There is no way prices are going to be lowered 10%. This is a simple lie. I worked for Kraft Foods and grocery stores simply don't lower prices...they only increase stuff-that's why food producers are so reluctant to temporarily raise prices because the grocers pass that cost on to consumers and when the price goes down, the supermarkets don't go back down except for Sales. Thank god for sales and generics. I won't every support a bill like this. Add to all that, people need jobs...corporations don't need more profits.