Different pricing terms, different meanings

Selective pricing, surveillance pricing, personalized pricing and dynamic pricing are not the same thing. A price that changes with demand differs from a price that changes because a store knows who is shopping.

Walmart patents new pricing systems

Walmart has patented two systems to help set prices. One automatically changes markdowns on its website based on predicted demand. Another uses past purchases to forecast demand and recommend item prices.

Patents granted in January and March

In January, Walmart received a patent for a system adjusting markdowns based on predicted demand and shopper response to prices. A second patent granted in March describes using purchase records to forecast demand and recommend prices.

Experts see item-level, not personal pricing

Jameson Spivack of the Future of Privacy Forum said Walmart's filings describe systems adjusting prices at the item level rather than at the individual level. Jay Stanley of the ACLU agreed they do not describe prices set for individual shoppers.

“systems that are adjusting prices at the item level rather than at the individual level”

Walmart collects extensive customer data

Walmart's privacy notice says it collects purchase histories and information about what customers browse and search on its website and app. This information may be used to tailor ads, product recommendations and promotions.

Walmart denies personalized pricing

A Walmart spokesperson told Fortune that patents protect ideas and intellectual property but do not mean a technology is in use. Walmart said it does not charge different prices based on a customer's personal information or purchase history.

“Walmart doesn't charge different prices based on a customer's personal information or purchase intent or history”

Digital shelf labels rolling out nationwide

Walmart is replacing paper price tags with digital shelf labels that allow employees to update prices without changing each tag by hand. In March, roughly two thousand three hundred U.S. locations had the labels, with chain-wide rollout expected within a year.

The real privacy line to watch

Jay Stanley said the privacy concern becomes concrete if a retailer uses what it knows about someone's circumstances to charge that person more. His dividing line is straightforward: charging different prices if they know who you are versus if they do not.

“Are they going to charge you a different price if they know who you are versus if they don't know who you are?”