Walmart is aiming to assuage customers’ fears about its new pricing technology as it rolls out digital price labels at its stores.
In a statement posted on the company’s website, Walmart Inc.'s CEO John Furner vowed that the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer isn’t using personal information like income, shopping history or a customer’s willingness to pay to set prices, and it won’t be doing so in the future either.
“We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t,” Furner wrote Friday. “Whether you’re buying groceries or electronics on a hot afternoon or in a sudden rush for an item, it’s never a reason to charge you more.”
The pledge from Walmart comes as concerns are mounting from some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers skeptical about the rollout of digital price labels by the discounter and other stores. Digital price labels are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at U.S. supermarkets and let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand.
It’s to change prices during the night, not while people are walking around. This was already covered. Focus on the actual issue (surge pricing) instead of making up some fantasy scenarios.
The problem is their TOS isn’t set up like that. They may may or may not be doing that now, not they certainly can switch to it slowly without saying a word because you’ve agreed to it. Just stop going there FFS. Americans have zero damn restraint anymore, throw sign any bullshit worthless petition, but when it comes to ACTUALLY doing (or not doing) anything…lol yeah right.
It’s not about TOS. Changing the price after you put something in your cart but before you got to the register would be straight out illegal.
https://retaildigitals.com/price-accuracy-laws-by-state/
Michigan: Shopping Reform & Modernization Act (2011). Scanner accuracy law with a consumer “bounty”: if the register charges more than the displayed price, the shopper is owed the difference plus 10× the difference (min $1, max $5) on request.
Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida & most other states: Adopt the NIST Handbook 130 price-verification examination: periodic inspections sample 25–100 items; typically 98% must scan at or below the displayed price to pass.
Fail an inspection and re-inspections, fines, or stop-sale orders follow.
And so on…
I don’t even live in US and I know that. Who come Americans are so confused about it?