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Retail groups ask committee to exempt convenience stores from unit-pricing rule
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Summary
Retail representatives told the Agriculture committee that unit-pricing—required in Vermont law but rarely enforced—creates disproportionate costs for small convenience stores and urged an exemption defined by store size or SKU count; committee asked stakeholders to negotiate language and return with a compromise.
Patricia Brown, a board member of the Vermont Retail Grocers Association and process improvement specialist at Steward Shops, told the Agriculture committee on April 15 that the association does not oppose moving Vermont’s retail pricing law toward the federal standard but is asking for an explicit exemption for convenience stores from the unit-pricing requirement.
Unit pricing lists a product’s price per unit (for example, per liter or per 100 count) on shelf tags to help shoppers comparison-shop, Brown said. She told the panel that unit pricing ‘‘is key’’ when grocery shoppers make major purchases but that the model does not fit the ‘‘grab-and-go’’ customers who use convenience stores, where most patrons are in and out within three to five minutes.
Brown said Vermont’s unit-pricing requirement has existed in state law but ‘‘has never been enforced’’ and argued that a carve-out based on store scale would be more appropriate than an exemption that depends on whether the store is part of a chain. She suggested thresholds in testimony to the committee, including a retail footprint under about 3,000 square feet or a product-count threshold (for example, roughly 3,500 SKUs) as potential criteria for an exemption. Brown also noted that the Agency of Agriculture’s proposal includes a 7,000-square-foot exemption for non-chain stores, a distinction the association opposes.
Retail representatives warned the committee that implementing unit pricing imposes an operational burden on small operators. Brown said stores may need to manually retag shelves, purchase or reconfigure software to calculate and display unit prices, and then maintain those tags as supplier prices and packaging change. ‘‘Any additional worker change is going to affect the price of a product for our customers,’’ she said.
Montpelier resident Thomas Wise testified as a consumer that some proposed clauses need clarification. He urged the committee to review a provision (referenced in his notes as page 11, lines 13–16) that would prohibit increasing prices during store hours, because for small shops re-pricing may only be possible during business hours. Wise also urged the committee to consider how much time and what technical guidance small stores would receive to comply; he cited the new NIST handbook as detailed and potentially difficult for small operators to follow without help.
Matt Koda, representing the Vermont Transportation Energy Network and speaking on behalf of the retail grocers network, echoed the concerns about operational burden and community role of small stores. ‘‘These small stores are third places,’’ Koda said, urging a solution that preserves consumer access to unit-pricing information while avoiding regulations that would disproportionately strain small, owner-operated shops.
Committee members and the chair expressed sympathy with small retailers and encouraged the trade groups and the Agency of Agriculture to meet and craft an agreed proposal before the committee pursues rulemaking. Chair Ingalls asked stakeholders to report back within about a week; she noted morning committee work wraps up on May 8 and said the committee would consult the Agency of Agriculture in the interim.
The committee did not vote on any language at the hearing and asked parties to continue negotiations and return with recommended text for the committee to consider.
