Massachusetts is a great place to live. Residents and visitors have their choice of city or county life, plenty of restaurants, and of course, plenty of shopping.

Massachusetts is home to an abundance of independent retailers from book stores, to sports equipment and gift shops. While small and family-owned businesses are a vital part of the state's economy, big box stores have their place in Massachusetts as well.

However, now one of the largest grocery chains in Massachusetts, which recently announced an abundance of store closers, has also been accused of price gouging.

One of Massachusetts' Largest Grocery Chains Found to Be Price Gouging

Massachusetts lawmakers are looking for answers from Stop & Shop after a new study found the chain guilty of price gouging.

A new study alleges that a city location is charging "egregiously" high prices than a suburban counterpart  The Hyde Square Task Force say that Jamaica Plain Stop & Shop on Centre Street was charging 18% more for groceries compared to a store location in Dedham.

Massachusetts Lawmakers are now demanding answers and soon. By October 14 to be exact.

According to BostonNews25 lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, say the following questions need to be answered by the Stop & Shop by the mid October deadline.

Here is a list of the six questions:

1. What pricing algorithms does Stop & Shop use to price its goods?

a. Please provide a list of all factors that go into pricing decisions, and their ranked weight of importance in the overall decision-making process.

b. Does Stop & Shop take into account neighborhood demographics or U.S. Census tract information as part of its pricing decisions?

c. Does this algorithm result in price differences for stores in urban, rural, and suburban areas?

2. Please provide updated, current prices for each of the 17 products that the Hyde

Square Task Force identified as being more expensive at the Jamaica Plain location than the Dedham location, for each of those locations.

a. In the aggregate, what is the price difference for these products at these locations?

b. What explains this price difference?

3. How much does Stop & Shop pay to lease its store space in Jamaica Plain? How much does Stop & Shop pay to lease its store space in Dedham?

4. Does Stop & Shop change its prices based on price increases at nearby grocery stores—for example, at Whole Foods located 0.7 miles from Stop & Shop’s Jamaica Plain location?

5. There are 124 Stop & Shop Locations in Massachusetts. Please provide, for the 17 items that were included in the Hyde Square Task Force’s study, the highest and lowest price that they have been sold at in Massachusetts Stop & Shop locations in the past year and what the respective store locations for each of these are.

6. What actions, if any, has Stop & Shop taken to lower prices and make prices more uniform across its 124 Massachusetts locations following the release of the Task Force report in June 2023?

 Stop & Shop Closing 32 Stores, Several in Massachusetts

Grocery retailer Stop & Shop has officially announced the closure of over 30 underperforming stores across multiple markets. This includes stores in Massachusetts, but also Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York. Company officials say the closings will all take place before November 2, 2024.

• 932 North Montello St., Brockton
• 36 New State Highway, Raynham
• 341 Plymouth St., Halifax
• 539-571 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury
• 165 Needham St., Newton (bfresh Market)
• 415 Cooley St., Springfield (1600 Boston Rd. and 1277 Liberty St., Springfield will remain open)
• 545 Lincoln St. Worcester (940 West Boylston St. and 949 Grafton St., Worcester will remain open)
• 24 Mattakeesett St., Pembroke (125 Church St., Pembroke will remain open)