Walmart Inc. is attempting to calm consumer anxiety regarding its new pricing technology as the company expands the use of digital price labels across its stores. In a statement published on the company’s website, CEO John Furner pledged that the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer does not use personal data—including income, shopping history, or a customer’s willingness to pay—to determine 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 on Friday. He emphasized that charging more for groceries or electronics during a sudden rush for an item
or on a “hot afternoon” is not a practice the company employs, stating that such actions would contradict Walmart’s every day low prices
business model.
Digital Label Rollout and Implementation
Digital price labels allow retailers to update costs instantly via a central computer, eliminating the need for employees to manually replace paper tags. Walmart executives stated that the technology ensures prices remain consistent and match the amount that rings up at checkout, while also reducing labor costs and saving worker time.
The company reported in March that 2,300 U.S. locations had already implemented digital shelves. Walmart expects the technology to be deployed chain-wide within the next year. To further address concerns, the company stated that these labels do not collect customer information and that every shopper in a specific store sees the same price regardless of their identity, the time of day, or current demand. Walmart also noted that workers typically sign off on price changes when customers are not shopping.
AI and Data Privacy Concerns
The CEO’s pledge extends to Sparky, Walmart’s artificial intelligence shopping assistant. Furner stated that the bot will not be used to hide lower-priced options that meet a customer’s needs or to increase a customer’s price.
These assurances follow scrutiny over recent patent filings from the company. One patent granted in January describes a system for setting online markdowns by tracking shopper responses to price and predicting demand. A second patent, issued in March, involves using past purchases to forecast demand and suggest prices. While a company spokesperson stated that patents do not necessarily mean a technology is in use or will become a product, the filings have contributed to unease over surveillance pricing.
Jameson Spivack of the Future of Privacy Forum and Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU, noted that the patents appear to describe adjustments at the item level rather than the individual level. However, Stanley pointed out that loyalty programs and online shopping have made it easier for retailers to track habits and identify customers over time.
Regulatory Scrutiny and Industry Trends
The shift toward digital labels is occurring amid broader skepticism from lawmakers, consumer advocates, and shoppers. Similar technology at Kroger has previously sparked concerns among lawmakers regarding potential grocery surge pricing.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also increased its oversight. Last month, the agency warned companies that personalizing pricing could violate consumer protection laws. While the FTC stated it lacks the legal authority to ban personalized pricing in every instance, it issued a bulletin requiring companies to disclose to customers how personal information is used to set prices.
Furner clarified that while Walmart does not personalize prices, costs may still fluctuate. He explained that the company raises prices when items cost more to transport or purchase, and lowers them when savings can be passed to the consumer.
Worth a look