Definition: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Input: Walgreens shoppers could pay up to 55 percent more for products at stores in the same city, according to a study by a consumer watchdog group released Thursday. 
  
  
  
 The huge price discrepancies were discovered in a study of four major markets: New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, Calif., and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Researchers bought a basket of 25 items ranging from coffee to diapers at 485 CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid locations in those areas. 
  
  
  
 Walgreens stores were five times more likely than its competitors to charge different prices for a certain product in the same city, the report said. In every market surveyed, researchers also said they found Walgreens to have the biggest price differences among its stores. 
  
  
  
 The report was released by Change to Win Retail Initiatives and the National Consumers League. They recommend consumers ask about price matching and avoid Walgreens flagship stores, which showed higher prices. In Chicago, Walgreens flagship stores are at State and Randolph Streets in the Loop and at North and Damen Avenues in Bucktown/Wicker Park. 
  
  
  
 Walgreen Co. spokesman Jim Graham said the company's prices "reflect the costs of doing business in the neighborhoods we serve as well as any nearby retail competition." 
  
 "Costs can vary from one location to another, even when they are a few blocks apart in dense urban areas, based on the store's cost of real estate, its hours of operation including whether it is open 24 hours, labor costs and the number of customers it serves each day, among other factors," he added. 
  
  
  
 Adjusting prices based on location or property values is common among national retail chains and not against the law. 
  
 The study comes a week after the Missouri Attorney General's office announced it is suing Walgreen Co. for allegedly overcharging customers and using false advertising. 
  
  
  
 The lawsuit stems from a two-month investigation by the office of Attorney General Chris Koster, in which the office said found a "pattern of advertising lower prices on display tags, but charging higher prices at the checkout." 
  
 Walgreens also said Thursday that its sales rose 5.6 percent in August, as an increase in customers’ average purchase offset a decline in store traffic overall. 
  
 Walgreen Co. is based in Deerfield. 
  
 sbomkamp@tribune.com | Twitter: @SamWillTravel ||||| Shop at the wrong Walgreens and you could end up paying significantly more than if you'd bought the exact same items at a store on the other side of town, a recent study found. 
  
 While some price variation occurs at Rite Aid (RAD) and CVS (CVS), Walgreens (WAG) was the worst offender, with a single item costing as much as 55% more depending on a store's location, according to a study of 485 drugstore locations in New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, Calif., and Dallas-Forth Worth by the National Consumers League and labor union coalition Change to Win. 
  
 The study was based on the listed prices for a basket of 25 items, ranging from Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice to Huggies "Little Movers" diapers. Depending on the city, the chain was up to five times more likely to have store locations in the same market that charged different prices. 
  
 "It's a wake-up call I think for consumers," said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League "The expectation is that you're going to have the same prices within a chain." 
  
 Related: Hospital bills show wide variations for same treatment 
  
 In Dallas-Fort Worth, for example, Walgreens shoppers could pay $3 more for Folgers coffee depending on the location they chose or $3.50 extra for cold medication. 
  
 In New York City, a box of 10 Claritin allergy tablets cost anywhere from $10.49 to $15.99 depending on the Walgreens store. The same bottle of eye drops, meanwhile, cost $9.99 at a location in Queens and $15.49 a subway ride away on 57th street in Manhattan. 
  
 The differences can add up. The basket of 25 items cost $38 -- or nearly 20% -- more at a Walgreens' flagship in New York City than it typically cost at other nearby locations. 
  
 Walgreens spokesman Jim Graham said in a statement that the store's prices reflect the company's cost of doing business in different neighborhoods. 
  
 "Costs can vary from one location to another, even when they are a few blocks apart in dense urban areas, based on the store's cost of real estate, its hours of operation including whether it is open 24 hours, labor costs and the number of customers it serves each day, among other factors," he said. 
  
 Related: CVS charges $133 more than Costco for generic drug 
  
 Price ranges of at least 20% were found among products at CVS stores, but such large price disparities were much less frequent than at Walgreens. At Rite Aid, "virtually no products" had that large of a price difference, according to the study. 
  
 CVS said that prices may vary at different stores based on local competition and other operational factors. Rite Aid did not respond to requests for comment. 
  
 To conduct the study, researchers checked prices at Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid stores in New York City, Los Angeles and Orange County and Walgreens and CVS stores in Dallas-Fort Worth. There are no Rite Aid stores in Dallas-Fort Worth. 
  
 Want to find the store with the best prices? Follow these tips from the National Consumers League. 
  
 Ask about price matching: While they won't be able to match online prices, managers are often able to match prices from other store locations of the same chain. 
  
 Shop around: Keep track of prices of your drugstore staples at different chains and locations. |||||
Output:
Thrifty shoppers, beware. A consumer watchdog group descended on New York, LA, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Orange County, and promptly went shopping, purchasing a list of 25 items from 485 CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid locations. What it found: Price differences of as much as 55% for the same product at Walgreens locations in the same city, reports the Chicago Tribune. (Price variations at CVS and Rite Aid weren't nearly so dramatic.) CNN shares some examples: A bottle of eye drops that cost $9.99 in Queens was $15.49 at a 57th Street location in Manhattan; the price of Folgers coffee varied as much as $3 at Dallas-Fort Worth locations. A Walgreens rep attributed the variance to the cost of real estate, hours of operation, labor costs, and the size of the customer base served by each location. (The Tribune notes that such price adjustments aren't illegal.) Change to Win and the National Consumers League—which released the report yesterday—advise customers to avoid flagship stores. CNN notes that the 25 items cost almost 20% more at a NYC flagship location as compared to other nearby Walgreens.