Walmart is set to ditch price stickers and introduce ‘digital shelf labels’ in thousands of stores.
This means that the company can update, in minutes, the prices of the 120,000 items that each store has. Weekly updates to the paper shelf labels typically took a store worker about two days.
The supermarket giant said the new technology will give customers “an even better shopping experience”.
But retail experts have noted in the past that such digital labels – and the speed with which prices can be altered – could usher in an era of dynamic pricing.
Uber is famous for this, but Amazon also uses it on their website. The site adjusts prices (up and down) on some items dozens of times a day based on demand and competitors’ costs.
The elimination of paper labels will be implemented in 2,300 of its 4,500 stores by 2026. It is the largest launch of new digital labels by a major retailer.
Walmart to introduce digital price shelves in thousands of stores
The food giant hopes that the use of digital shelves will speed up price updates
Given the need for constant price updates, rollbacks, and markdowns, a lot of work goes into keeping these labels up to date.
The chain hopes that the use of digital shelves will speed up this process and free up staff time.
Digital shelf labels can be easily updated with a few clicks using an app, Walmart said in the statement.
“A price change that previously took an associate two days to update now takes just a few minutes with the new DSL system,” the statement states.
“This efficiency means we can spend more time helping customers and less time on repetitive tasks,” he explained.
In addition to pricing, digital shelves can also indicate when a particular product is running out of stock.
The shelves’ “Stock to Light” feature allows a store worker to shine an LED light on the label using their phone and the shelf will flag 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 statement.
He added: “It’s not just about improving efficiency and customer satisfaction, but also integrating ourselves into our work, in this case, to help reduce operational waste.”
In addition to pricing, 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 taller carts in stores across the country over the past year.
The new shopping assistants include additional features such as a cup holder, popular with fans of the Stanley Cup, and an area to place cell phones or a shopping list.
While the convenience of dedicated storage greatly decreased, many consumers were angered by the increased height of carts.
