SAN DIEGO—The San Diego City Council voted 8–0 at its March 24 council meeting in favor of an ordinance requiring grocery stores that offer digital deals to make paper coupons with identical pricing available to all consumers.
The ordinance also requires grocery stores to clearly label the discount where the items are offered for sale, and to place a sign or notice at a conspicuous location informing customers of their rights to physical coupons.
The Grocery Pricing Transparency Ordinance, proposed by City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera and supported by Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, is intended to help those who might not have access or the knowledge to use digital coupons, the authors said.
Digital discounts become problematic when deals are offered only through digital means, the councilmembers said in the proposal, “disadvantaging those in the ‘digital divide,’ or those who do not have ready access to or comfort with computers, smartphones, other digital devices, and the Internet.”
Those who miss out on digital coupons often include seniors, low-income households, and non-native English speakers, and these populations are most impacted by higher food costs, the proposal said.
Elo-Rivera said at the council meeting that his father brought the issue up to him more than a year ago.
“I realized that this is an issue that has been impacting older Americans for years now,” he said.
“With this item in front of us, San Diego has an opportunity to not just be America’s finest city, but to become America’s fairest city when it comes to grocery prices.”
Von Wilpert echoed the need for such an ordinance.
“Imagine you go to a grocery store, you’ve got all your favorite items on the conveyor belt, and you see the person ahead of you get a 50 percent discount on some of your favorite items. They leave, and you go up to check out, and the clerk says, ‘Oh no, you’re paying full price ... because you have to have it on the smartphone,’” she said.
“That just doesn’t make sense.”
Elo-Rivera’s office told The Epoch Times that the date for a second reading of the ordinance proposal has not yet been set but that they are hoping for sometime in April.
The ordinance would be the first of its kind in the nation if approved.
Similar proposals were under consideration in New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, and Massachusetts, but “those efforts were squashed when industry stepped in,” Elo-Rivera said at the meeting.
Justine Murray, executive director of public affairs for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, raised concerns at the council meeting about a “lack of stakeholder outreach” in crafting the ordinance.
“When affected businesses are not included in these important conversations, well-meaning policies have the potential to have unforeseen negative effects for the local economy,” she said.
Tim James, director of local government relations at the California Grocers Association, asked the council to delay the vote.
“We do not have any issues with helping bridge this digital divide,” he said at the council meeting. “Our issue [is] with the language in the ordinance. [It] is written in such a simplistic and broad way that [it] would not be able to be implemented by grocers in a real way.
“We’re asking for you just to delay your vote, to have conversations ... on how this would be implemented.”
Von Wilpert said that the ordinance has been public since last October and in the news, and that she and Elo-Rivera had many meetings with concerned parties.
“But now we know there are others who want to weigh in,” she said.
Von Wilpert then amended the ordinance to go into effect 90 days after its final passing, adding two more months to the original proposed 30 days.
“That will give the grocery industry plenty of time,” she said.
She also reminded the public and grocery industry that there is a second reading and that she is open to hearing major concerns.
“We’re not trying to punish people. We’re just trying to make digital equity,” she said.
Nate Rose, vice president of communications and public affairs for the California Grocers Association, told The Epoch Times that the ordinance may end up causing fewer or no coupons to be available in San Diego grocery stores.
“It’s well-intentioned,” he said of the ordinance. “What we kind of miss are the second-order impacts of what these laws would do.”
He said the grocery industry is very competitive and that coupons are marketing and advertising tools that stores use for various programs to attract and retain customers, with some “meant to be exclusive, not to be made available to everybody.”
“For example, you bought two packs of hot dogs, and the company emails you a coupon,” he said. “Then force that same coupon to be offered to people who don’t have that same purchasing contacts. It doesn’t make any sense, and it would be unworkable.”
He said that updating the shelf tags to reflect the digital price also does not make sense in all circumstances. For example, when quick sales of near-expiring items are needed, the cost and time spent on the labeling “won’t be worth the hassle anymore.”
He said that in the end, the ordinance may not be beneficial to consumers.
The ordinance is supported by the AARP and the San Diego nonprofit Serving Seniors.
