Recognize that this, despite assurances, will be used to gamified pricing, just as McDonalds is doing now. I am sure prices will be "consistent in every store" but few will pay those prices because they will be much more than normal. However, if you've shopped at Walmart in the past week that's 10% off and if it is a Tuesday morning you get that extra 5% early bird price and if you spend at least $100 you will earn 10 WallyBucks or whatever waste of time gamified coupon scheme they come up with.
As an expat American living in a European country whose grocery stores have all introduced "DSLs" years ago, I find this whole discourse humiliating. Same goes for U.S. stores being allowed to display price labels excluding tax or price per unit.
> “Given the cost the company will incur to install the capacity for dynamic pricing in its stores, it would be corporate malfeasance if they did not believe doing so would not only recoup the cost, but add profit as well,”
Am I misreading this passage? I don't think that's what corporate malfeasance means. "Install the capacity for dynamic pricing" is also rather loaded, there are plenty of other reasons to install those tags (as another poster mentioned, tagging is time-consuming and error prone).
Finally, my teenage dreams come true. Ignoring the negative implications associated with this, my first job was at a grocery store, and tagging was one of my least favorite parts of the job. Each week we'd get a giant binder of price updates, and have to go find that tag(if it exists). Then, to replace it, carefully trying to get behind the old one with a fingernail to pop it out, then bending the new paper tag into a semi circle to insert it. Then of course you miss some, or some fall off, leading to customers complaining the price at the register is wrong.
We spent so much manpower on this particular err prone duty I hated, I often wondered why we didn't just have long programmable lcd strips on each shelf.
> Given the cost the company will incur to install the capacity for dynamic pricing in its stores, it would be corporate malfeasance if they did not believe doing so would not only recoup the cost, but add profit as well.
dynamic pricing and scalping are the same mechanism.. As an economy student I like the efficiency, as a consumer I hate the asymmetry and inevitability
Digital Price Tags are standard for like at least 5-10 years now in Europe?
At least in France Carrefour is doing it already for a very long time, and in Germany/Austria REWE Group too.
To this date they aren't used for dynamic pricing, just for saving on labor costs, so that people don't have to run through the store to re tag everything when something is on offer.
The bigger threat to dynamic pricing I see are those stupid apps, which give you personalized coupon codes. There the incentive might be to set a high base price, and discount down based on the pain point of the individual customer.
But I understand the concerns, I would also assume that US Megacorps are trying some completely shady anti-consumer shit.
My local Walmart has these and I have a hard time reading them. They are not bright and with the glare from the ceiling lights they are hard to read especially lower on the shelf. At least at my store they are not nearly as bright as what it shown in the article, more like a kindle display without the backlight on.
Recognize that this, despite assurances, will be used to gamified pricing, just as McDonalds is doing now. I am sure prices will be "consistent in every store" but few will pay those prices because they will be much more than normal. However, if you've shopped at Walmart in the past week that's 10% off and if it is a Tuesday morning you get that extra 5% early bird price and if you spend at least $100 you will earn 10 WallyBucks or whatever waste of time gamified coupon scheme they come up with.
The gamified pricing won't be done through the price labels, but through Loyalty Programs, Apps and Coupons.
As an expat American living in a European country whose grocery stores have all introduced "DSLs" years ago, I find this whole discourse humiliating. Same goes for U.S. stores being allowed to display price labels excluding tax or price per unit.
> “Given the cost the company will incur to install the capacity for dynamic pricing in its stores, it would be corporate malfeasance if they did not believe doing so would not only recoup the cost, but add profit as well,”
Am I misreading this passage? I don't think that's what corporate malfeasance means. "Install the capacity for dynamic pricing" is also rather loaded, there are plenty of other reasons to install those tags (as another poster mentioned, tagging is time-consuming and error prone).
Finally, my teenage dreams come true. Ignoring the negative implications associated with this, my first job was at a grocery store, and tagging was one of my least favorite parts of the job. Each week we'd get a giant binder of price updates, and have to go find that tag(if it exists). Then, to replace it, carefully trying to get behind the old one with a fingernail to pop it out, then bending the new paper tag into a semi circle to insert it. Then of course you miss some, or some fall off, leading to customers complaining the price at the register is wrong.
We spent so much manpower on this particular err prone duty I hated, I often wondered why we didn't just have long programmable lcd strips on each shelf.
> Given the cost the company will incur to install the capacity for dynamic pricing in its stores, it would be corporate malfeasance if they did not believe doing so would not only recoup the cost, but add profit as well.
dynamic pricing and scalping are the same mechanism.. As an economy student I like the efficiency, as a consumer I hate the asymmetry and inevitability
Digital Price Tags are standard for like at least 5-10 years now in Europe?
At least in France Carrefour is doing it already for a very long time, and in Germany/Austria REWE Group too.
To this date they aren't used for dynamic pricing, just for saving on labor costs, so that people don't have to run through the store to re tag everything when something is on offer.
The bigger threat to dynamic pricing I see are those stupid apps, which give you personalized coupon codes. There the incentive might be to set a high base price, and discount down based on the pain point of the individual customer.
But I understand the concerns, I would also assume that US Megacorps are trying some completely shady anti-consumer shit.
My local Walmart has these and I have a hard time reading them. They are not bright and with the glare from the ceiling lights they are hard to read especially lower on the shelf. At least at my store they are not nearly as bright as what it shown in the article, more like a kindle display without the backlight on.
And people still buying at Walwart soooooooo
People do not understand that these companies depend on you, buy elsewhere and they will be forced to make changes.
But nope, people still buy there :)