In a March 23rd tweet Robert Reich, Professor of Economics at UCLA, Berkeley, and formerly Secretary for Labor in the Clinton Administration, accused Walmart of excessive pricing contributing to inflation. This follows an announcement of increases in shelf prices for their Great Value private brand.
The comments by Reich, follow accusations from the White House concerning food inflation, citing price increases (‘gouging’) per unit of product and reducing the size of packs (‘shrinkflation’). The White House blame game was echoed by the Federal Trade Commission in a report implicating all the major chains including Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and Target in maintaining high prices, notwithstanding easing of supply chains.
Simply citing the gross margins and net profits of companies including Walmart and Target that sell a diverse range of products does not specifically show a policy of excessive pricing of groceries.