End of the road for yellow supermarket discount labels? Grocers will introduce new pricing technology
Britain’s biggest supermarkets are planning to introduce technology that will allow them to automatically update the prices of goods on shelves throughout the day.
Grocers are considering doing away with paper price tags, which could mean the end of yellow discount stickers on food that expires at the end of the day and first thing in the morning.
They are playing catch-up with German discounters Aldi and Lidl, who have already rolled out the technology in their British stores.
Bargains: Britain’s biggest supermarkets are considering scrapping paper price tags, a move that could mean the end of yellow discount stickers on soon-to-expire food
French technology company Vusion, based on the outskirts of Paris, hopes to introduce digital price tags in 1,000 stores in Britain and Ireland by the end of this year.
The company has already partnered with Walmart – the largest supermarket retailer in the US – and is rolling out digital price tags in 2,300 of its stores.
Vusion is in discussions with all major grocers. Marks & Spencer is already trialling the technology in six of its stores, with plans for a wider rollout.
Retailers say digitizing price tags allows staff to work more efficiently and focus on other jobs rather than updating shelf prices.
And it’s more environmentally friendly because it reduces paper waste and allows stores to better monitor stock levels.
But concerns have been raised about possible ‘surge pricing’, which would see prices rise when there is more demand for products.
Another disadvantage from the customer’s perspective is that it would be more difficult for them to spot discounted items without the highly visible yellow label.
They wouldn’t be able to tell which items had their prices reduced during the day because the digital label would just change automatically.
“We are in discussions with most brands,” says Vusion CEO Thierry Gadou.
‘By the end of 2026, most brands will have digital prices. The others will stay behind. In Britain we are at the tipping point.’
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