Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Food Lion uses MVP customers’ purchase histories and spending behavior to determine individualized discounts, rewards, promotional prices, or earning thresholds.
Food Lion has publicly described its rewards program as providing offers targeted according to a customer’s specific purchases. Its Shop & Earn program also provides individualized rewards associated with purchases and spending progress.
Personalizing which products a customer sees is not itself necessarily improper. Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether Food Lion may go further by using customers’ individual purchasing histories to determine the economic value of the promotions presented to them.
For example, the investigation is examining whether customers who frequently purchase particular products may receive smaller discounts because their purchasing history suggests they will buy those products anyway, or whether individualized spending thresholds are calculated according to how much a particular customer historically spends.
The investigation is also examining whether customers understand that their own purchasing behavior may influence the discounts, promotional terms, or rewards displayed through their MVP accounts. The available information does not establish that Food Lion currently uses individual customer data to set individualized prices, which is why the investigation is focused on hearing from shoppers who can compare the offers they received with those received by other MVP customers.
Consumers May Have Experienced:
- Receiving MVP offers based on products they previously purchased;
- Receiving different coupons or rewards than another Food Lion shopper;
- Receiving individualized Shop & Earn goals or spending thresholds;
- Seeing offers change after repeatedly purchasing particular products;
- Receiving less favorable promotions for products they routinely purchase; or
- Paying more than another MVP member for the same product after individualized discounts were applied.
Potential Claims May Include:
- Failure to adequately disclose the use of purchasing information in determining economic offers;
- Misleading presentation of individualized promotions or discounts;
- Unfair or deceptive trade practices;
- False or misleading promotional pricing;
- Unjust enrichment; and
- Violations of applicable state consumer-protection laws.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You are or were a Food Lion MVP member;
- You regularly used your MVP account when shopping;
- You received personalized coupons, Shop & Earn offers, or other individualized promotions;
- Your spending thresholds or discounts appeared to change based on your shopping history;
- Another MVP member received a better offer for an identical product; or
- You paid a higher net price than another shopper because you received a less favorable individualized offer.
If you have encountered these issues, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call.