I don't think "randomly increasing prices" counts as a dark pattern. It's just a plain and simple economic pattern.
The only reason some companies are able to get away with this is because too many people shop mindlessly without checking prices.
The solution is for everyone to pay attention to prices when we shop: the brands who jump their prices up will have 0 customers.
I'm not saying it's easy, and perhaps grocery store price labelling isn't maximally effective, but when we shop frugally, we actually benefit not only ourselves, but each other.
The only reason some companies are able to get away with this is because too many people shop mindlessly without checking prices.
The solution is for everyone to pay attention to prices when we shop: the brands who jump their prices up will have 0 customers.
I'm not saying it's easy, and perhaps grocery store price labelling isn't maximally effective, but when we shop frugally, we actually benefit not only ourselves, but each other.