Key Points
Walmart is rolling out digital shelf labels and expects the technology to be in all U.S. stores by year’s end. Kroger also has begun experimenting with the technology.
The nation’s largest retailer says the digital price tags help associates do their jobs better and stresses that prices on items will be exactly the same for every consumer in every store.
Some legislators are wary of the technology’s potential to be used in dynamic pricing models that disadvantage consumers, with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introducing a bill to ban it.
I wonder how tough the display screens are. Like if I accidentally took a can and leaned into the display, would it crack and cost them a bunch of money to fix?
or maybe if you accidentally swiped a harddrive magnet on them
Stopped shopping at Walmart 10 years ago and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Where do you get better deals?
Coupons
So what? The price is still fetched at the register. The on-shelf price is just information.
I agree that this will let them change it faster but not really any different from before. As I said the price has for a few decades been read at the register from the barcode. Not a sticker on the item
We’ve already got them here. Pretty sure they’re already fucking with the prices.
Dynamic pricing is only part of it. When you are anticipating higher persistent inflation this makes it easier to tick prices up daily. Enjoy your Trump cost of living adjustments! Lol.
This kind of stuff is inevitable with capitalism, in their continuing effort to make human workers obsolete and save money it makes perfect sense to replace static paper displays with digital ones. I would assume the only reason they didn’t do it any soon is the up front costs.
Dynamic pricing is of course a real concern, but its not like you can’t do dynamic pricing with paper labels, it just takes more effort (and so the prices will probably reflect that as they change). It’s neat how we call it “dynamic pricing” now. but like when it happens in other places its called Hyperinflation, are there still some people foolish enough to think “dynamic” means it could go down also?
First saw this in Kohl’s , but it kinda felt more predatory so I wonder how psychologically it’ll work.
They should ban this practice and ban it online as well. This is just price fixing with extra steps.
so remember when you are in the grocery store to put your phone in airplane mode so the sensors cant read your phone and its bank balances. that way you won’t get dinged with higher prices because you’re “better off “.
You putting your bank balance in your phone’s Bluetooth name or what?
Maybe it picks up on your phone’s identity to see what items are commonly purchased
Maybe it does, though this can only come in the form of discounts (because you can’t do personalised prices on the price tag, and you can’t force people to pay more than what’s on the tag)
Dynamic pricing is not legal in Canada, but what our Real Canadian Super Store does on some items is set the price super high, then every day you go in it is a different “sale” price. On a specific soymilk the price ranges from 3.50 to 9.00.
Invidious. Damn.
Insidious?
I’m also shocked it’s $7 for a bottle of Pantene.
That clearly says Dove.
It’s shampoo, Michael, how much could it cost?
