The rise of electronic shelf labels — tiny digital price tags that can modify in real time — is triggering a backlash from US shoppers who fear sneaky price hikes and vanishing deals.
Walmart, Kroger, Kohl’s, Whole Foods and Lidl have all begun rolling out the tags, which were once mostly applyd in Europe.
The technology is designed to save staff time, reduce paper waste, and allow for clearer inventory updates. But customers aren’t convinced.
‘Don’t acquire anything with a digital price tag on it – we can stop this nonsense real soon. Start shopping local in any way possible,’ an X applyr wrote.
Retailers insist they’re not applying the tags for dynamic pricing — a strategy where prices rise and fall based on demand, time of day, or location.
But shoppers remain skeptical, especially as inflation and tariffs continue to drive costs higher.
Lidl plans to add the tech to all 190 of its US stores by the finish of summer. Walmart is pushing to have them in 2,300 locations by next year.
In Walmart’s case, It can update — in minutes — the prices on the 120,000 items each store stocks. Weekly updates to paper shelf labels typically took a store worker about two days.
The tags, which are also known as electronic shelf labels, launched in Europe in the 1990s
Digital price tags have infuriated Walmart, Kohl’s, Kroger and Lidl shoppers
Retail experts point out that such digital labels — and the speed that prices can be altered — could usher in an era of dynamic pricing.
Uber is famous for this. In the world of retail, Amazon already apply such models — with prices on some Amazon items modifying dozens of times a day based on demand and competitor pricing.
Neil Saunders, retail expert at Global Data, declared retailers will necessary to tread carefully to allay shoppers’ fears of dynamic pricing.
‘Retailers would have to be very careful not to adjust pricing too much otherwise it could undermine their price competitiveness and reduce consumer trust in them,’ Saunders informed Daily Mail.
Whole Foods and Kroger informed the Daily Mail that their electronic shelf labels are not being applyd for dynamic pricing. Walmart declined to comment on whether it plans to apply the tags that way.
The Daily Mail has also reached out to Kohl’s and Lidl for comment, but neither has replied.
Announcing its roll out in June, Walmart declared the new technology will give customers ‘an even better shopping experience.’
Meanwhile, a Kroger spokesperson declared: ‘They are a great way to take manual shelf tagging work off our associates’ roles so they can have more time to work with our customers directly—and it’s a huge reduction in the paper waste generated by tags.’
Reddit applyrs were driven crazy by electronic price tags that arrived in Kohl’s stores several years ago
Shoppers believe the idea of electronic price tag usage is ‘crazy’
Still, for shoppers already reeling from rising costs, any whiff of dynamic pricing hits a nerve.
Recent tariff hikes have sparked consumer outrage — especially after Walmart employees launched flagging products with price jumps as high as 80 percent on Reddit.
In fact, other Walmart staff complained they were being hit with a flood of instore price rises.
‘Lately my section has been obtainting 5,000 to 9,000 a week,’ a Reddit applyr wrote, adding it was a 40 to 50 percent increase over usual.
Tarobtain, another retailer testing electronic shelf labels, has also faced internal pushback after employees noticed steep price increases on everyday items due to tariffs.
Tarobtain, a major competitor that’s also begun applying electronic store labels, has left employees fearful for their jobs with its price hikes.
Workers spotted everyday products with drastic price jumps, including a $9.99 USB-C cord now costing $17.99.
For many consumers, the fear is that digital pricing builds it clearer for retailers to pass those increases on — without anyone noticing until it’s too late.
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