Walmart exec speaks out on dynamic pricing again after watchdog calls out patent

A new exposé details a trove of Walmart patents and argues they reveal ambitious data-collection and in-store tracking plans that go beyond ordinary retail analytics. The report catalogues technologies tied to Scan & Go, wearables and smartphone sensors, and even claims of facial-recognition, eye-tracking and emotion-detection to monitor how shoppers move through stores and react to items. One highlighted patent from 2023, titled “System and method for remote controlling of electronic shelf labels,” describes electronic shelf labels whose prices can be changed dynamically based on information from a shopper’s cart, suggesting the company explored mechanisms that could enable location- or behavior-based price adjustments.

Walmart’s corporate affairs chief and the CEO publicly rejected those interpretations, insisting the company “prices products, not people,” and denying any use of personalized or time-of-day dynamic pricing. Walmart also told Retail Dive it will not use or renew the electronic-shelf-label patent, while critics question why the company obtained and maintains such intellectual property through 2039 if it has no intention of deploying it. The dispute frames a broader policy and privacy debate about corporate surveillance, consumer data use and what patents signal about future retail practices.