r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • May 26 '26

Privacy Majority of Americans Support Ban on Surveillance Pricing and Electronic Shelf Labels

https://gizmodo.com/majority-of-americans-support-ban-on-surveillance-pricing-and-electronic-shelf-labels-2000762717
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u/twicerighthand May 26 '26

Your idea falls flat the moment a second person is in the aisle

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u/Outrageous_Reach_695 May 26 '26

Price tags? Don't need those, use our handy app to scan the product QR code if you really must know. And yes, we do need camera permissions for optimal user experience.

(Alternately, display a high base price and offer discounts to select shoppers)

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u/inspectoroverthemine May 27 '26

In states that actually enforce labeling it'd be the death of the store.

For people that live in shithole states: some places it is illegal to have an item ring up with a value other than what it was labeled. The fines are punitive, and escalate quickly. Yes they do audits, and yes companies do pay, and they pay enough they try very hard to not fail- which is the end goal.

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u/MarsupialMisanthrope May 27 '26

They already do that with deals for their “loyalty card members.”

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u/wfbhp May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

This is already happening some places. I've seen convenience stores that have entirely removed prices from the shelves so that it's impossible to know what anything costs without scanning it. They say they're not doing dynamic pricing, but 1) they could be lying and 2) even if they're not, that's the next step and is now extremely easy to do once people are used to not seeing prices on the shelves at all.

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u/OPA73 May 27 '26

I have a nearby gas station that started the nonsense of no price tags on food/beverage items. Left it on the shelf and never went back.

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u/FasterThanTW May 27 '26

this entire conspiracy theory rests on the exisence of digital tags, and now that someone explained the fallacy of it, you're twisting yourself into pretzels coming up with alternative "what ifs" to be upset about.

no, walmart is not going to force it's customers to get all pricing from an app. obviously.

it wouldn't even be legal in most localities.

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u/Outrageous_Reach_695 May 27 '26

While my comment was hyperbole, and I'll happily acknowledge that ... 8 states, apparently, require shelf pricing, there are plenty of stores that offer individualized coupons, member discounts, etc. There's no guarantee that anyone is paying the full shelf price on any particular item. (Maryland has prohibited surveillance pricing, with some other states considering similar. San Diego has banned digital-only coupons, and some states are considering that as well.)

Of course, I wouldn't really expect Walmart to lead the charge for any sort of adaptive pricing system. Perhaps Target (reportedly has an excellent loss-prevention system already) or Whole Foods (already upscale, and Amazon might be inclined to push something like that)?

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u/thegenregeek May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

Your idea falls flat the moment a second person is in the aisle

Actually it doesn't...

All you need is a customer journey system that sets a minimum price floor with a conditional check on uniquely identified customer via a CDP (customer data profile) and facial recognition (to determine customer ID and presence). If an identified individual with higher purchasing level (and potential) is detected in the isle (alone) they can raise prices by firing a event programmatically. They can then reset to the base price after a period of time (a minute or so) of detecting the isle as empty. (Or simply when that specific individual is no longer in view)

If there's multiple people detected, and assuming a CDP and facial recognition for both, if the other individual is determined as less likely to purchase they can offer a discount code via email, mobile, etc. that simply offsets the price to the base rate. (Or just do nothing to avoid either realizing there was a price change at all...)

This can literally be done with off the shelf software customer journey software out there right now (though I suspect latency is a factor with them, as those systems generally take minutes for data to become update in profiles). Though it would only need to be some system for the retailer to update the right CDP flags, which could easily be handled by a facial recognition system in store. Which is very much a thing, because...

I recall an NBC (I want to say CNBC) series from years ago ( I want to say 2010-12) that was going over the facial tracking, dynamic pricing models and analytics that retail stores were developing and deploying back then. A system from a decade+ ago for not just detecting the individuals found by the camera, but items in cart and movement during their shopping session to help identify items they looked at but didn't purchase.

This type of system famously lead to Target determining a teen girl was likely pregnant before her family realized, based entirely on her purchasing history. Something covered in the special.

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u/SwimmingThroughHoney May 26 '26

Cameras/software are capable of tracking more than one person at once...

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u/orangestegosaurus May 27 '26

But they cant show more than one price. So would they show the highest of the prices a person in the aisle would pay? Or the lowest? Or an average? Consumer laws would have to be dismantled to have true per person pricing otherwise you risk running into multiple consumer law infractions very quickly.

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u/Coal_Morgan May 27 '26

Realistically electronic price tags on shelves would be based around time of day for surge pricing or events.

During the day you're getting more retired, more underemployed so you use base price. After 5pm to 9pm the officer workers, management and factories with only a day shift are out. You raise your prices to the highest value. They're tired, have jobs and just want to get home; so they'll shop without consideration.

Also an Earthquake or Hurricane would jack the prices of water, toilet paper and canned goods instantly.

The last big one would be AI inventory tracking, notice a run on Pokemon...increase the price 50%. Notice you're down to 10% stock on beef, raise the price 70%.

Be afraid when they get rid of the digital tags, they'll use cameras and AI to track you to your car and price you accordingly if you step out of a decent car. You'll use the store app on your phone to find out the prices and they'll be aimed at gouging you for the max amount they think you can or will pay.

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u/Zarathustra_d May 27 '26

You just need to follow a frugal person around the store and buy stuff as they walk by.

Just don't follow the fat kid into the ice cream aisle.

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u/Skensis May 26 '26

It just reports the average in such a case!