Walmart CEO John Furner has written a letter to customers following widespread concerns that its new AI-powered Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) will be used to implement dynamic pricing in-store.

The response comes after economic advocacy group Groundwork warned of the scheme’s potential harms. The group’s CEO, Lindsay Owen, has published a book that it describes as an ‘exposé’ of the technology and its potential impact on shoppers.

Groundwork claims the ESLs could change prices up to six times per minute, based on the weather, time of day, or even which customer is in front of them.

But Furner said these circumstantial changes are off the table, and the ESLs won’t be used for dynamic pricing.

“Prices can change. We lower them when we can pass savings along. Sometimes they rise because an item costs more to buy or transport,” he said.

“But using someone’s income, shopping history, or moment of need to charge them more would violate the promise our business model is built on. We won’t do it. You [the customer] are at the heart of our why, and our relationship with you has always been built on trust.”

Furner said ESLs are being used to save employees’ time. “A shelf price should match what rings up at checkout,” he added. “Digital shelf labels help us do that more consistently by displaying the right price.” 

“They also save associates time replacing paper tags. It may sound like an easy task – but as someone who has had to change those paper tags by hand over the years, I can tell you it’s a time-consuming and unrewarding task. Our associates would much rather be helping you, our customers.”

Owen, of Groundwork, poured cold water on Furner’s response.

“Furner can backtrack all he wants, but Walmart has already pulled back the curtain on its sneaky pricing practices, and shoppers aren’t buying it,” he said. “If Walmart is serious about its commitments to shoppers, it should pull the patent filings and claw back the electronic shelf labels.”