digital shelf labels

Walmart has pledged that it will not adjust product prices based on shoppers' personal information or the time of day. In a letter to customers, CEO John Furner said the company's rollout of digital shelf labels is intended to save store labor and speed up price updates, not enable surveillance-based pricing. The statement follows Wall Street Journal reporting raising concerns that electronic labels could allow retailers to charge different customers different prices.

Walmart's chief executive says the retailer will not raise prices for individual customers based on their shopping history. The statement follows growing scrutiny of dynamic pricing and electronic shelf labels, which allow stores to adjust prices quickly. Shoppers and privacy advocates have worried such technology could enable personalized pricing. Walmart is stressing that its digital labels are for efficiency, not targeted price increases.

Walmart says it does not use customers' personal information to set prices, pushing back on privacy concerns as it rolls out digital shelf labels across more of its US stores. The retailer says the electronic tags allow faster price updates and clearer labelling, but the expansion has raised questions about whether dynamic, personalised pricing could follow. Walmart maintains prices will not vary based on individual shopper data.