“Walmart can use data from a customer's phone to determine what they can afford and charge them more.”
Walmart collects extensive customer data, and has patented systems that could enable personalized pricing based on that data, but explicitly states it does not use this for dynamic or individual-based pricing as of June 2026.
While Walmart collects a vast amount of customer data, including from phones, and has patented systems related to algorithmic pricing, the company has publicly stated that it does not implement dynamic or individualized pricing based on this data. Instead, they maintain that digital shelf labels are for operational efficiency and that their patents are for markdown optimization.
Judged as of Jun 20, 2026— the video's publish date
Walmart announced in March 2026 that it is expanding its digital shelf labels (DSLs) to all of its U.S. stores by the end of 2026.
While Walmart has secured various AI-related patents—some of which involve facial analysis or emotional and behavioral pattern recognition for operational and security purposes—there is no evidence that the company uses emotional recognition technology to adjust product prices for customers in real
While Walmart is rolling out digital shelf labels (DSLs) to all U.S. stores by the end of 2026 to improve operational efficiency and pricing accuracy, the company has explicitly stated that these tags are not used for demand-based surge pricing and that prices remain stable throughout the day.
"Site merch" is a generic placeholder term used in Walmart's point-of-sale system for various items, and while customers have reported confusion over this label appearing on their receipts, it is not a mysterious fee but a system designation for specific products or transactions.
Walmart announced that it is rolling out digital shelf labels (DSLs) to all of its U.S. stores by the end of 2026.