Walmart plans to ditch price stickers and introduce “digital shelf labels” in thousands of stores.
It means the company can update the prices of the 120,000 items each store stocks in minutes. Weekly updates of paper shelf labels typically took a store associate about two days.
The supermarket giant said the new technology will give customers “an even better shopping experience”.
But retail experts have pointed out in the past that such digital labels – and the speed at which prices can be changed – could usher in an era of dynamic pricing.
Uber is known for this, but Amazon also uses it on its website. The site adjusts prices for some items dozens of times a day — up and down — based on competitor demand and costs.
The move away from paper labels will be rolled out to 2,300 of the 4,500 stores by 2026. It is the largest rollout of the new digital labels by a major retailer.
Walmart will introduce digital price boards in thousands of stores
The supermarket giant hopes the use of digital shelves will streamline price updating
Given the need for constant price updates, rollbacks and markdowns, a lot of work is required to keep these stickers up to date.
The chain hopes that the use of digital shelves will streamline this process and free up staff time.
The digital shelf labels can be easily updated with a few clicks using an app, Walmart said in the release.
“A price change that used to take an employee two days to update now takes just minutes with the new DSL system,” the release said.
“These efficiencies mean we can spend more time helping customers and less time on repetitive tasks,” the report said.
In addition to prices, the digital shelves can also indicate when the stock of a particular product is running low.
The shelves’ ‘Stock to Light’ feature allows a store associate to use their phone to flash an LED light on the tag and the shelf will indicate locations that require attention.
“The transition to digital shelf labels is a game-changer for Walmart, our customers and our associates,” Walmart said in the release.
It added: ‘It’s not just about improving efficiency and customer satisfaction, but also about integrating it into our work, in this case to help reduce operational waste.’
In addition to prices, the digital shelves can also indicate when stock is running low
It comes after customers were outraged by another recent change at Walmart.
The supermarket giant has rolled out larger trolleys to stores across the country over the past year.
The new shopping aids include additional features such as a cup holder, popular with Stanley cup fans, and a space for mobile phones or a shopping list.
While the convenience of dedicated storage declined, many consumers remained angry about the increase in cart height.