Four big grocery laws changing how you shop in 2025

CONSUMERS nationwide have had to adjust the way they shop this year as four major grocery laws take effect.

The rules and restrictions were put in place for a variety of reasons, but with a common goal of bettering the retail experience.

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Consumers are facing four significant retail changes this year (stock image)[/caption]

Despite the trend toward e-commerce in recent years, especially during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Americans are still heading to brick-and-mortar stores for their needs.

As of last month, about 45.4% of consumers prefer it to buying merchandise online even, per data from Capital One Shopping.

Findings from Parcel Pending also note that about 61% still find the in-store retail experience enjoyable, and the trend is growing.

Shopping for groceries in-store remains highly preferable, and grocery stores have come a long way to innovate for customers with delivery and pickup services and, of course, self-checkout.

Throughout the 1990s and mid-2000s, self-checkouts gained more popularity and have since become a staple at retailers.

Except, significant controversy has been sparked over the kiosks in recent years, with critics arguing that they make the shopping experience less personal due to the lack of human to human interaction and that they lead to increased theft rates.

SELF-CHECKOUT

While the mixed feelings have led top chains like Walmart, Target, and Dollar General to improve self-checkout processes, three states have taken action to regulate them this year in the first of the four major grocery law changes of 2025.

California, Rhode Island, and Texas, are all attempting to pass or have passed legislation to prevent self-checkout theft or limit how many kiosks can be open at a time without traditional checkout availability.

Officials in Long Beach, California, about 25 miles outside of Los Angeles, are cracking down with a local ordinance called “Safe Stores are Staffed Stores,” for example.

It was passed on June 17 already, and requires that any grocery store, retailer, or small business have one or more staffers supervising every two self-checkout kiosks that are open.

The ordinance also demands a 15 item or less limit, a move Walmart has been testing at select locations across the country.

Those establishments that don’t follow the rule could be fined up to $2,500 every hour they fail to adhere.

In Rhode Island, a bill spearheaded by Senate President Valarie Lawson bans grocery stores from having more than six self-checkout kiosks open at a time and requires that one traditional cashiered lane be accessible for every two kiosks.

The bill is still awaiting a final vote from the Rhode Island House of Representatives, but could take effect before the year ends.

Texas is committing to harsher penalties for shoppers who steal at self-checkout kiosks.

Those found guilty of theft of items worth under $100 can get a maximum fine of $500 starting this year.

For between $100 and $750 worth of stolen product, up to 180 days of jail time is possible along with a maximum fine of $2,000.

Goods stolen that are worth more than $300,000 is serious and considered a felony in Texas, with possible punishment of life in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.

PLASTIC BAGS

Another major shopping change implemented this summer for many Americans was expanded bans on plastic grocery bags.

In most cases, the ban is implemented purely as an effort to reduce plastic waste impact on the environment.

On average, consumers in the United States still use about 100 billion plastic bags every year, according to data from Environment America.

California was notably the first to implement a single-use plastic bag ban at retailers in 2016.

Except 11 other states have been added to the list — Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Pennsylvania is also set to be number 13, as legislation has been proposed by Senator Judith Schwank (D), but there remains some opposition and it’s unclear whether or not it will be made into law.

Individual cities also have their own bans, like Philadelphia, for example, which has reduced plastic bag usage by about 200 million since 2018.

Retailers like Aldi have also completely eliminated plastic bags at its over 2,500 stores in the US as of January 2024.

STYROFOAM

As of July, several states, including California, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virgina, all have statewide restrictions on polystyrene, often known as Styrofoam.

The single-use product is often used at food vendors for takeout meals or even in packaging at retail stores, but could potentially be harmful to humans.

Additionally, its estimated that Styrofoam takes hundreds to thousands of years to biodegrade, making for a negative environmental impact, according to what Elly Boehmer, state director of Environment Virgina, told NBC-affiliate WVVA.

Oceana has also cited in a report that Styrofoam contributes to about 170 trillion microplastic particles in the world’s oceans.

Some violating establishments in the states who continue to have Styrofoam with products could face $50 daily fines.

SNAP RESTRICTIONS

Last but certainly not least of the four major changes is the recent rollout of laws in 12 states banning Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients from purchasing certain unhealthy foods and drinks.

The Trump administration recently confirmed that 12 states were granted waivers by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to restrict the usage of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card purchases on select items.

The first six states on the list were Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Utah, with Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia added in August.

While every state’s restrictions differ slightly, certain sodas, energy drinks, candy, and other sugary or processed products are on the lists.

Most of the purchase limits don’t fully go into effect until 2026.

Consumers should also remain aware of the full list of stores that are closing down in September.

A wave of bankruptcies has also swept several US chains in 2025.