Walmart Draws Line on Personalized Pricing as Patents Fuel Skepticism
Groundwork says Walmart’s patents could let the retailer track shoppers and adjust offers, with one Seattle experiment showing a grocery basket cost $114 to $124.
- On Monday, watchdog group Groundwork Collaborative released a report detailing more than a dozen patents held by the $833 billion retailer Walmart, alleging the company is developing surveillance technology to track shoppers and enable personalized pricing.
- Groundwork's analysis examined over 10 years of Walmart's patent filings, treating patents as 'road markers' for where the company invests and what it considers valuable enough to protect.
- Technologies documented include digital shelf labels that adjust prices up to six times a minute, facial recognition, Wi-Fi signals, and withholding coupons from customers deemed likely to pay full price.
- Walmart spokesperson Dan Bartlett rejected the allegations Monday, stating 'a patent isn't a plan' and insisting the company does not use personal data to set individualized prices.
- Privacy advocates warn that such surveillance technology could soon shape shoppers' experiences, as Walmart quietly broadened its data collection to include retinal imagery, income, and license plate numbers.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Walmart denies it will set pricing based on how much customers can afford to pay
Last month, Walmart released a statement saying it did not plan to set pricing based on a customers income or how badly they need the item. But, as concerns persisted, Walmart issued another statement, this time saying it has no plans to renew a patent on technology that would allow such dynamic pricing.
Walmart again denies it will set pricing based on how much customers can afford to pay
Last month, Walmart released a statement saying it did not plan to set pricing based on a customers income or how badly they need the item. But, as concerns persisted, Walmart issued another statement, this time saying it has no…
An Open Letter from the CEO of Walmart- “We price the product, not the person.” Or, Some of the Keys to Knowing How You’re Getting Ripped Off
https://www.levernews.com/walmart-says-it-prices-products-not-people-its-patents-suggest-otherwise https://corporate.walmart.com/about/everyday-affordability/
Walmart Draws Line on Personalized Pricing as Patents Fuel Skepticism
Walmart faces renewed questions over patents that describe dynamic price adjustments based on cart contents, household data and social media. Executives including Dan Bartlett and CEO John Furner have repeatedly pledged not to use personal information for individualized prices. The retailer says it will not renew a key 2023 patent and prices products rather than people. Advocacy group Groundwork Collaborative argues the filings reveal broader am…
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