March 11, 2026
Alexander2323/Depositphotos.com
Should Walmart Be Rolling Out Digital Shelf Labels?
Walmart announced plans to roll out digital shelf labels (DSLs) to all Walmart U.S. locations within the next year — from 2,300 currently — despite growing concerns they’ll ultimately be used to bring dynamic pricing to stores.
Walmart highlighted the main benefit from DSLs, also called ESLs (electronic shelf labels), as “accurate, consistent” shelf pricing for customers. Without DSLs, associates have to walk up and down aisles swapping out paper tags by hand. With more than 120,000 items in a store and thousands of weekly price updates, including rollbacks and temporary price adjustments, the process of replacing paper tags could take “hours, if not days, to complete.”
With DSLs, pricing changes can be done “in minutes” to ensure pricing consistency. Walmart said, “Associates review and push approved changes through a secure system, typically outside of shopping hours, so prices remain stable and consistent during the day. That means customers see clear, consistent prices at the shelf that match what they are charged at the register. This builds customer trust.”
DSLs also enable associates, using a mobile device, to activate LED lights on shelf labels to quickly identify where items need to be restocked. LED guidance can also help associates find items faster when fulfilling online orders. The saved time eliminating the manual task of switching paper tags further frees up associates to focus on stock replenishment and helping customers.
Other benefits cited include easier-to-read labels and reducing paper waste.
Walmart’s Push Toward More Digital Shelf Labels Stirs Further Controversy Over Dynamic or Surge Pricing
News of Walmart’s rollout nonetheless stirred up concerns that DSLs will lead to dynamic or surge pricing, where retailers or other businesses quickly change the cost of products or services based on fluctuations in demand due to weather or traffic — or even using personal data like location, browsing history, and purchase patterns to set individualized prices. Amazon and other online players continuously adjust and evaluate prices based on real-time supply and demand.
In its statement, Walmart implied it had no plans to use DSLs for dynamic pricing. Walmart said, “It’s important to remember that prices are the same for all customers in any given store and are consistent regardless of demand, time of day or who is shopping. DSLs simply modernize how prices are displayed at the shelf.”
Walmart also stressed that DSLs operate on a closed system and do not interact with or collect information on shoppers. The retailer added, “Some have wondered what these labels can do. Once you see how simple they are, it clicks: there’s nothing like a camera or microphone in them, they just display prices.”
At least a dozen states are considering legislation to prevent dynamic pricing, or AI-driven algorithmic/surveillance pricing, at the store level. Some are seeking to outright ban DSLs. Proposed legislation in Pennsylvania would prohibit changing prices within a 24-hour period.
Amid the legislative and Walmart’s actions, the National Retail Federation on March 5 released a video and statement from Mercy Du Beehler (NRF’s VP of Government Relations) stressing that ESLs don’t enable surge pricing or constant changes, track customers, or collect personal data. Du Beehler also called out the benefits Walmart highlighted.
Du Beehler concluded, “Implementing electronic shelf labels helps retailers ensure accuracy and reliability, an important step to establishing credibility with customers.”
BrainTrust
Perry Kramer
Managing Partner, Retail Consulting Partners
Alex Walderman
Director of Business Development , SOLUM
Brian Numainville
Principal, The Feedback Group
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Did Walmart make the right call in announcing the wider U.S. rollout of digital shelf labels?
Will it be able to mitigate concerns over in-store dynamic pricing?
Poll
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Here’s the reality: there are no technical safeguards preventing surge pricing or other forms of price manipulation. The capability exists. But two things can be true at once. The multifaceted efficiency arguments are also easy to make and genuinely valid.
The technology is sophisticated, but aesthetically, the tags don’t scream “digital.” DSL providers have done an impressive job of not drawing attention to the shift, which is strategically smart given consumer sensitivity around pricing transparency.
Consumers are already shopping and buying under dynamic pricing models. Every time they shop online, book a flight, order an Uber, or even buy from Amazon, they’re seeing algorithmically determined prices that shift based on demand, time of day, browsing history, and countless other variables. Implementing these same capabilities in the physical store environment hits different (for now).
Walmart has smartly given assurances, but that’s a policy choice, not a technical limitation. The infrastructure could support real-time dynamic pricing if Walmart chose to implement it.
Consumer tolerance for dynamic in-store pricing is low, at least for now. But as digital-native generations become the dominant shopping demographic, and as more retailers follow Walmart’s lead, resistance will soften. For now, Walmart is playing it safe by getting ahead of any backlash and emphasizing operational efficiency.
While Walmart will not see the same labor savings from ESLs as other retailers, due to their everyday low prices (which means less price changes), the labor savings will more the justify the expense. Associates can spend this time stocking shelves, assisting customers, or cleaning – thus improving sales and the customer experience.
Dynamic pricing should not be the overriding issue here. The benefits of ESLs to the retailer are significant. The benefits to the consumer are better in-stock positions and a clearer line of site to the smaller products on the shelf.
I’m not sure if it’s the “dynamic” changing of prices… but it can take more consumer time.
2x now I’ve caught Walmart with 2 different digital price tags for exact same item.
In my case it was milk… but could be anything where an item takes up multiple shelves at once (eg laundry detergent, paper towels, etc).
Inevitably the product scans at the higher of the 2 prices. So it requires taking a phone screenshot at the shelf, purchasing & then going to customer service desk to ask for refund of the price difference.
Manually changing shelf edge labels is time consuming and costly. Electronic shelf edge labels are much more efficient and are now at a stage of development where the cost is reasonable. Walmart’s primary focus is on savings. Could it implement dynamic pricing? Sure. Will it? Unlikely, especially to an extreme degree. Walmart’s whole consumer promise is built on low and honest prices. If they undermine that they lose a huge part of their appeal.
Yes, they should have. Yes, they will. (I’ve written a lot about this topic recently, so…)
ESL deployment is a good move for Walmart and almost all other retailers. The technology has matured significantly in the last 10 years and is being adapted in almost all retail verticals. We should expect this trend to continue. Allowing, and encouraging, retailers to implement cost savings features like ESL is critical for retailer’s to be able to control costs. There are significant consumer advantages to ELS, including special messages, QR codes, and other product information. These features will increasingly move towards mainstream. Having recently led a selection and implementation of ELS system i have seen first hand the benefits.
There’s almost always some level of backlash when a retailer rolls out new technology at scale. We’ve seen it before with store technologies like self-checkout. In many cases, those concerns settle once shoppers understand how the technology is actually being used.
Walmart and many other mass retailers will move to ESL sooner or later. It’s not if but when.
Given Walmart’s power and influence across the retail sector, this announcement will likely speed up other retailers’ adoption of ESL.
While dynamic pricing may come into play at some point, Walmart would not jeopardize the trust its built in consumers by switching this on so quickly. Their essence is everyday low pricing and this doesn’t align with dynamic pricing.
Once digitally-native shoppers, who view dynamic pricing as the norm from shopping online, become the primary household shoppers, they will accept dynamic pricing in stores and it will become widespread.
For now, ESL provides a whole other suite of efficiencies and savings measures for Walmart and all other retailers who adopt it.
AI answers (which is info that all general market shoppers can read) says dynamic is already in play. Perception will be very important… as it influences the level of trust Walmart will have over Target, other supermarkets, et al.
Per AI, that any shopper could view:
“No, Walmart’s sale prices do not follow a strict, uniform weekly schedule like many traditional supermarkets. While supermarkets often reset their weekly circulars on Wednesday mornings, Walmart utilizes a more continuous, “Everyday Low Price” (EDLP) model combined with dynamic, often daily, price adjustments, particularly with the rollout of digital shelf labels. http://www.cjonline.com
+4″
Macro level: In a time where shipping lanes are globally closing & supply chains (again like covid years) are in flux, would Walmart sit on their hands and NOT change prices?
If paper circulars are no longer “proof” that a price is from 12:01am Wed to 12:00am Tues… then that gives a lot more power to Walmart to do whatever they want.
The tech just needs to be synced… the digital “circular” price and the shelf. (Most stores already have disclaimer that IRL shelf and digital cart prices may not match).
Billionaires probably don’t get to be billionaires without taking advantage everywhere possible.
In short, ESL provides efficiencies that make sense for retailers, providing labor savings and more accuracy in pricing. Seems like a smart move.
“At least a dozen states are considering legislation to prevent dynamic pricing, or AI-driven algorithmic/surveillance pricing, at the store level. Some are seeking to ban DSLs outright.”
Please, will somebody tell the politicians that dynamic pricing goes in both directions? Who hasn’t benefited from prices dropping as a result of dynamic pricing?
How frequent are your instances of price drops via dynamic?
I see a price drop when part of a sale or promo, but not sure I can – from a shelf tag anywhere- tell a price drop for a dynamic reason. The closest instance I can recall was in paper shelf tags of holiday items being marked down again (75% off, vs 50% off a few days before). But certainly no algorithm was needed to see that Christmas items remained on a shelf that was now needed for Valentine’s day items.
The state governments are far too late in game. They are already late in regulating AI (whether agentic, analytic, generative, predictive, et al.).
In travel, hospitality, Uber, entertainment, and e-commerce, where dynamic pricing is regularly used, I often see price drops and have taken advantage of them. I imagine you have, as well.
I saw DSL first time in 2023 and was tremendously exciting how tech is helping retailers improve service standards. But I have 2 queries , probably if someone can shout there opinion
- If DSLs save hours of manual labor, are we actually seeing that time reinvested into expert customer service, or is it just a move to run stores with even fewer staff?
- How do we prevent the ‘Joy Factor’ from turning into ‘Price Anxiety’ ?
I’d guess Option 1. Afterall, the investment to go digital tags was probably sold into C suite & Board of Directors as cost cutting/ time saving. I doubt the “higher level use of staff” was given a) equal merit or b) an actual job description road map of what the hours were to elevate the brand into.
Time saved could be shifted to equally manual (for now) labor, like packing BOPIS
Digital shelf labels are a practical step toward improving store operations. Large retailers manage thousands of price updates every week and replacing paper tags manually can be slow and prone to errors. A digital system helps ensure pricing accuracy and allows store associates to spend more time on stocking shelves and helping customers.
At the same time, concerns around dynamic pricing are understandable. Retailers will need to be transparent about how the technology is used and make it clear that prices remain fair and consistent for all customers.
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Here’s the reality: there are no technical safeguards preventing surge pricing or other forms of price manipulation. The capability exists. But two things can be true at once. The multifaceted efficiency arguments are also easy to make and genuinely valid.
The technology is sophisticated, but aesthetically, the tags don’t scream “digital.” DSL providers have done an impressive job of not drawing attention to the shift, which is strategically smart given consumer sensitivity around pricing transparency.
Consumers are already shopping and buying under dynamic pricing models. Every time they shop online, book a flight, order an Uber, or even buy from Amazon, they’re seeing algorithmically determined prices that shift based on demand, time of day, browsing history, and countless other variables. Implementing these same capabilities in the physical store environment hits different (for now).
Walmart has smartly given assurances, but that’s a policy choice, not a technical limitation. The infrastructure could support real-time dynamic pricing if Walmart chose to implement it.
Consumer tolerance for dynamic in-store pricing is low, at least for now. But as digital-native generations become the dominant shopping demographic, and as more retailers follow Walmart’s lead, resistance will soften. For now, Walmart is playing it safe by getting ahead of any backlash and emphasizing operational efficiency.
While Walmart will not see the same labor savings from ESLs as other retailers, due to their everyday low prices (which means less price changes), the labor savings will more the justify the expense. Associates can spend this time stocking shelves, assisting customers, or cleaning – thus improving sales and the customer experience.
Dynamic pricing should not be the overriding issue here. The benefits of ESLs to the retailer are significant. The benefits to the consumer are better in-stock positions and a clearer line of site to the smaller products on the shelf.
I’m not sure if it’s the “dynamic” changing of prices… but it can take more consumer time.
2x now I’ve caught Walmart with 2 different digital price tags for exact same item.
In my case it was milk… but could be anything where an item takes up multiple shelves at once (eg laundry detergent, paper towels, etc).
Inevitably the product scans at the higher of the 2 prices. So it requires taking a phone screenshot at the shelf, purchasing & then going to customer service desk to ask for refund of the price difference.
Manually changing shelf edge labels is time consuming and costly. Electronic shelf edge labels are much more efficient and are now at a stage of development where the cost is reasonable. Walmart’s primary focus is on savings. Could it implement dynamic pricing? Sure. Will it? Unlikely, especially to an extreme degree. Walmart’s whole consumer promise is built on low and honest prices. If they undermine that they lose a huge part of their appeal.
Yes, they should have. Yes, they will. (I’ve written a lot about this topic recently, so…)
ESL deployment is a good move for Walmart and almost all other retailers. The technology has matured significantly in the last 10 years and is being adapted in almost all retail verticals. We should expect this trend to continue. Allowing, and encouraging, retailers to implement cost savings features like ESL is critical for retailer’s to be able to control costs. There are significant consumer advantages to ELS, including special messages, QR codes, and other product information. These features will increasingly move towards mainstream. Having recently led a selection and implementation of ELS system i have seen first hand the benefits.
There’s almost always some level of backlash when a retailer rolls out new technology at scale. We’ve seen it before with store technologies like self-checkout. In many cases, those concerns settle once shoppers understand how the technology is actually being used.
Walmart and many other mass retailers will move to ESL sooner or later. It’s not if but when.
Given Walmart’s power and influence across the retail sector, this announcement will likely speed up other retailers’ adoption of ESL.
While dynamic pricing may come into play at some point, Walmart would not jeopardize the trust its built in consumers by switching this on so quickly. Their essence is everyday low pricing and this doesn’t align with dynamic pricing.
Once digitally-native shoppers, who view dynamic pricing as the norm from shopping online, become the primary household shoppers, they will accept dynamic pricing in stores and it will become widespread.
For now, ESL provides a whole other suite of efficiencies and savings measures for Walmart and all other retailers who adopt it.
AI answers (which is info that all general market shoppers can read) says dynamic is already in play. Perception will be very important… as it influences the level of trust Walmart will have over Target, other supermarkets, et al.
Per AI, that any shopper could view:
“No, Walmart’s sale prices do not follow a strict, uniform weekly schedule like many traditional supermarkets. While supermarkets often reset their weekly circulars on Wednesday mornings, Walmart utilizes a more continuous, “Everyday Low Price” (EDLP) model combined with dynamic, often daily, price adjustments, particularly with the rollout of digital shelf labels. http://www.cjonline.com
+4″
Macro level: In a time where shipping lanes are globally closing & supply chains (again like covid years) are in flux, would Walmart sit on their hands and NOT change prices?
If paper circulars are no longer “proof” that a price is from 12:01am Wed to 12:00am Tues… then that gives a lot more power to Walmart to do whatever they want.
The tech just needs to be synced… the digital “circular” price and the shelf. (Most stores already have disclaimer that IRL shelf and digital cart prices may not match).
Billionaires probably don’t get to be billionaires without taking advantage everywhere possible.
In short, ESL provides efficiencies that make sense for retailers, providing labor savings and more accuracy in pricing. Seems like a smart move.
“At least a dozen states are considering legislation to prevent dynamic pricing, or AI-driven algorithmic/surveillance pricing, at the store level. Some are seeking to ban DSLs outright.”
Please, will somebody tell the politicians that dynamic pricing goes in both directions? Who hasn’t benefited from prices dropping as a result of dynamic pricing?
How frequent are your instances of price drops via dynamic?
I see a price drop when part of a sale or promo, but not sure I can – from a shelf tag anywhere- tell a price drop for a dynamic reason. The closest instance I can recall was in paper shelf tags of holiday items being marked down again (75% off, vs 50% off a few days before). But certainly no algorithm was needed to see that Christmas items remained on a shelf that was now needed for Valentine’s day items.
The state governments are far too late in game. They are already late in regulating AI (whether agentic, analytic, generative, predictive, et al.).
In travel, hospitality, Uber, entertainment, and e-commerce, where dynamic pricing is regularly used, I often see price drops and have taken advantage of them. I imagine you have, as well.
I saw DSL first time in 2023 and was tremendously exciting how tech is helping retailers improve service standards. But I have 2 queries , probably if someone can shout there opinion
I’d guess Option 1. Afterall, the investment to go digital tags was probably sold into C suite & Board of Directors as cost cutting/ time saving. I doubt the “higher level use of staff” was given a) equal merit or b) an actual job description road map of what the hours were to elevate the brand into.
Time saved could be shifted to equally manual (for now) labor, like packing BOPIS
Digital shelf labels are a practical step toward improving store operations. Large retailers manage thousands of price updates every week and replacing paper tags manually can be slow and prone to errors. A digital system helps ensure pricing accuracy and allows store associates to spend more time on stocking shelves and helping customers.
At the same time, concerns around dynamic pricing are understandable. Retailers will need to be transparent about how the technology is used and make it clear that prices remain fair and consistent for all customers.