In the best case scenario, technology should make shopping in stores easier while freeing human employees to perform customer service and other tasks that are better than automation or artificial intelligence (AI).
Walmart has long maintained that the use of artificial intelligence will bring benefits to customers and employees.
“Being people-centered and powered by technology helps our employees find better ways to serve customers and members, including growing product offerings, faster delivery and experiences they love. […]AI is helping us create great customer solutions, reduce friction, streamline decision-making, and [manage] Inventory,” Walmart CEO John Furner shared during the chain’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
In addition to helping customers, technology can be used primarily in ways that benefit the company. For example, Uber’s surge pricing (where rides cost more during peak hours) may benefit the ride-sharing service and its drivers, but customers will lose out.
When Wendy’s hinted at the possibility of using surge or surge pricing, it faced a backlash and the company quickly abandoned the plan. Now, Walmart is implementing technology across all of its stores that will make it easier to use dynamic pricing models (where the price of an item changes quickly based on demand).
Digital shelf labels (DSLs) allow Walmart to change or set prices on items without requiring workers to physically change price tags. According to the retailer, this saves significant labor time.
Walmart has been active in pointing out the benefits of the technology and its impact on the company’s employees.
“Today, approximately 2,300 Walmart U.S. stores are already using digital shelf labels, and we expect this technology to be rolled out across the chain within the next year. This expansion can’t come soon enough for our associates,” Walmart said in a press release.
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The chain laid out labor arguments.
“Walmart stores have tens of thousands of items, and each one needs a clear, accurate shelf price. Between new inventory, rollbacks, and markdowns, price updates happen quickly and can take hours or even days to complete,” it shared.
What the chain failed to mention in its press release is that DSL will also make it easier for the chain to implement dynamic pricing.
Walmart has made it clear that the changes to DSL do not mean it will start implementing dynamic pricing.
“It’s definitely not going to be ‘one hour it’s this price and the next hour it’s not,'” Greg Cathey, Walmart’s senior vice president of transformation and innovation, said in a statement to CBS News.
But there’s nothing stopping chains from adjusting prices more quickly, which could mean raising or lowering prices faster than before.
“I don’t think Walmart will launch dynamic pricing anytime soon,” Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, told CBS. “A lot of shoppers use Walmart because of its low prices, and Walmart works very hard to build trust with its customers.”
“The DSL program was not designed for dynamic pricing,” Walmart spokesperson Cristina Rodrigues told Retail Brew in a statement. “Walmart is committed to everyday low prices. DSL makes it easier for associates to add on-shelf pricing for new products and update pricing related to program rollbacks and final clearance products.”
Many states have laws preventing chain stores from “price gouging” during storms, product shortages or other emergencies.
“Price gouging occurs when retailers and others take advantage of a surge in demand by charging exorbitant prices for essential goods, often following a natural disaster or other emergency,” the National Conference of State Legislatures shared on its website.
Early data suggests consumers are actually already benefiting from the technology.
AInvest reports: “ESL eliminates manual price changes, reduces operating costs by up to 30%, and enables dynamic pricing strategies to respond to demand fluctuations, competitor behavior and inventory levels. A 2024 study found that discount frequency increased by 15% after adopting ESL without significant price increases, indicating that retailers are using the technology to increase value for consumers.”
Walmart is moving from manual pricing to digital shelf labels (DSLs). Shutterstock ·Shutterstock
A survey of U.S. consumers conducted by Gartner Consumer Community in October 2024 showed that 80% of people believe that brands with consistent pricing are more trustworthy, and 42% are willing to spend more on products if pricing is guaranteed to be consistent.
“Seventy-nine percent of 1,532 respondents to Gartner’s 2024 Cultural Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, conducted in September and October 2024, reported experiencing unexpected price situations in the last year, ranging from surge pricing to hidden fees to unforeseen rate hikes,” Gartner said.
“While inflation may have eased, skepticism and frustration have not, and these negative sentiments are fueling distrust and price paranoia,” said analyst Kate Muhl, vice president of the marketing practice at Gartner. “As a result, consumer loyalty has declined and brand relationships have become more adversarial.”
It should be noted that consumers are generally opposed to the use of dynamic pricing.
According to a March 2024 CivicScience survey, “more than two-thirds (68%) of U.S. adults somewhat or strongly agree that dynamic pricing (the practice of raising prices when demand is high and lowering prices when demand is low) constitutes price gouging.”
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on March 4, 2026, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.
