Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Ahold Delhaize and its U.S. grocery brands use customers’ purchase histories, loyalty information, or other personal data to determine individualized discounts, promotional offers, or other pricing terms.
Ahold Delhaize operates several major U.S. supermarket brands, including Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and The GIANT Company. These brands have been among the supermarket companies subject to congressional inquiries concerning surveillance pricing, including questions about what consumer information retailers use to set prices, their use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and consumers’ ability to opt out of these practices.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether Ahold Delhaize brands use common or similar systems that connect loyalty-program information and customer purchasing histories with individualized promotions, discounts, or pricing decisions.
The investigation is particularly focused on whether customers who demonstrate different purchasing habits may receive different economic terms for the same products. This could include differences in personalized coupons, spending thresholds, loyalty rewards, or promotional prices.
The available information does not establish that Ahold Delhaize currently uses individual customer data to determine individualized prices. The investigation is intended to determine whether personalization extends beyond recommending relevant products and instead affects the price or value of the offer presented to an individual shopper.
Consumers May Have Experienced:
- Receiving personalized coupons or promotional offers through a participating grocery loyalty program;
- Receiving different discounts than another customer shopping at the same supermarket;
- Receiving individualized spending thresholds or loyalty rewards;
- Seeing offers change after repeatedly purchasing particular products;
- Receiving smaller discounts on products they regularly purchase; or
- Paying a different net price than another loyalty member for the same product.
Potential Claims May Include:
- Failure to adequately disclose the use of personal information in determining economic offers;
- Misleading presentation of individualized discounts or promotional prices;
- 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 shop at Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, or The GIANT Company;
- You participate in one of these stores’ loyalty or rewards programs;
- You regularly received personalized coupons, discounts, or promotions;
- Your offers appeared to change based on your purchasing history;
- Another loyalty member received a better offer for the same product; or
- You paid more for an identical product because another customer received a different personalized discount.
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.