Technology

We're gonna need some new regulations that require all price labels to have a date/time of last change so we know when they changed the prices.

The first time the price of a good changes between the time I put it in my cart/basket and checkout, I will be starting a class-action lawsuit against corporate fraud.

Jesus, I can’t imagine just coming out and saying this like it’s not fucking deranged to charge people more for WATER during a heat wave.

and if there is a fire, we can raise prices of fire extinguishers, how cool is that?

Just leave my gallons of ice cream sitting there.

They'll probably require you to shop with your phone and scan shit as you go.

Yea, no, kiss my ass.

I won’t say never, but my company has these and the tags aren’t able to be centrally updated meaning it would require manual intervention to reprice those items at all locations (and incorrect pricing is grounds for shutdown in some states) furthermore our software only does a pricebook load once a day so I can’t see that in our near future. I’m inclined to believe Walmart execs may be regurgitating a sales pitch more than what they’re capable of doing. That being said never say never and out techno dystopian future will be upon us soon.

Also, the first time the price of something rises in the 5 minutes it takes for me to get my shopping done and get to the checkout, I’m taking a shit on the floor.

I'm with you I'm saving my dump truck load for the conveyor belt at the register.

It helps that it's an "industry analyst" and not someone from Walmart.

I can tell you, working in retail, there's no way they'd jack up prices during a heatwave for water. They still gotta compete with other stores, and charging more would cause shoppers to go to where it's cheaper.

Now if there's shortages all over town and even the followers can't keep up, I can see them fucking with prices. But they could do that right now if they wanted to. It's not hard to adjust prices.

The real advantage of electronic labels is not having a crew to replace stacks and stacks of labels all over the store. The cost of labor and cost of the actual label sheets and printer maintenance to keep all that up to date, I'm guessing, is getting to the point where it's cheaper to use electronics.

Haha literally what planet do they live on?

Yeah every store values client loyalty, but pretending companies (e.g. Walmart for crissakes) want to be loyal to their customers should disqualify you from being called an "industry analyst".

Probably the same guy that says inflation is “not a problem/getting better/under control”.

Are these people just available for hire by the media? Are they like professional witnesses for “two sides” reporting?

Ads are digital. The price ranges become digital. They have no excuse.

I'm sure you'll still get those bootlickers defending the practice of not including tax, but they will make even less sense than before.

Wait, you're telling me that the price on the shelf doesn't include tax where you live?

Of course not. It lets their office or even corporate computers change the prices in real time whenever they feel like it. Hypothetically, you could pick something off a shelf where the digital signset $3, and by the time you walked it up to a register, it cost $4. It's like changing the price of something in a shop simulation video game after the customer has picked it up, and now they have to pay $9,999.99 for a bag of potato chips.

The year is 2047. Individually tracked pricing algorithms determine prices for each customer. I am the local water man, who everyone pays a small fee to go buy clean water, because my high volume of purchases means I get a slight discount. In only 34 more years I can pay off my 8th grade education and start thinking about a down payment on a double sleeping pod.

They've been in use in the US in other retail outlets for about as long.

I suppose there was little rationalization for them in grocery stores until recently. Keep in mind grocery stores are massive chains, largely stocked by vendors - the store doesn't own a huge portion of the product, they rent out space to vendors.

So there's probably also the interaction between vendor and the chain - how the pricing update is managed.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable about how grocery works could chime in. I only have a cursory understanding. I wonder what their It systems look like, how they integrate/communicate with vendor systems.

They are - and they’re e-ink based so power lasts a long time. I’ve not been to a store that don’t have them in many years.

They’re great - always showing the correct price/ amount, and it’s less hassle for the store to change.

As long as you have a free market and not a coordinated one it will work out great for you guys too

Not only that but they can identify you by your cell phone and see if you are a high income person or big spender, and change the prices as you walk down the aisles.

We just need a law to prevent them from changing the prices during business hours or limit it to one change per day if they are open 24/7.