"The reasoning for this decision seems to be that the store has to pay to power the coolers, so you're essentially charged extra for the electricity used to keep your drink cold. This would make sense, but given that the coolers house tons of different drinks at once and are made to be energy efficient, the cost of the extra energy is probably not equivalent to the extra price of the drink."
"You're more likely paying a convenience fee. It's easier to grab a cold drink from the cooler than to take a warm drink home and wait for it to cool in your own fridge, so you pay for that ease of access, the same way you sometimes pay extra for grocery store pickup. Of course, there's nothing wrong with paying a bit more to have a cold beverage on demand."
Cold beverages positioned near checkout commonly cost more than the same items in the beverage aisle. The higher price is often attributed to cooling costs, but multi-product, energy-efficient coolers make those costs unlikely to match the price difference. Retailers instead charge a convenience premium for immediate, chilled drinks, similar to fees for services like grocery pickup. Consumers can avoid the upcharge by choosing aisle items or getting a cold drink elsewhere, such as a fast-food drive-thru, if they want a lower-cost chilled beverage without paying the convenience markup.
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