Walmart Says Digital Shelf Labels Won’t Be Used for Personalized Pricing

Furner made the pledge in a statement posted on Walmart’s website and in a letter to customers, according to the Associated Press and The Verge. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said it does not use income, shopping history or a customer’s willingness to pay to set prices and will not do so in the future. “We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t,” Furner wrote Friday. “Whether you’re buying groceries or electronics on a hot afternoon or in a sudden rush for an item, it’s never a reason to charge you more.”

The Verge reported that Furner also said Walmart would not use conversations with its Sparky AI assistant to change prices. He said the shift to digital shelf labels is meant to save store associates time, rather than to change prices dynamically. The AP reported that the label system lets stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers replace paper tags by hand.

Digital price labels are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at U.S. supermarkets. Walmart said in March that 2,300 Walmart U.S. locations already use digital shelves, and the AP reported that the company expects the technology to be chain-wide within the next year. The Verge, citing a report from The Wall Street Journal, said Walmart had announced plans to roll out digital shelf labels in all U.S. stores by the end of the year. The two accounts differ on the timeline for a full rollout.

The assurances come as some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the rollout of digital labels by Walmart and other stores. Dynamic pricing refers to retailers changing prices based on factors such as product demand, competitor pricing and customer preferences. The Federal Trade Commission is working on a policy to clamp down on personalized pricing. New York now requires retailers to disclose when they are using algorithmic pricing, while New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland have moved to ban stores from using customers’ personal data to change prices.

Editor's Summary

Walmart CEO John Furner said the company will not use personal information or the time of day to set prices as it expands digital shelf labels, which Walmart says are intended to save store workers time. The pledge comes amid scrutiny from regulators and some states over algorithmic and personalized pricing. Walmart has said thousands of stores already use the labels, though reports differ on when the rollout will be complete.