Walmart shoppers can expect some changes in the coming years as the retailer shifts from traditional price tags to digital shelf labels. This move is expected to be a significant improvement not only for Walmart associates but also for customers.
The initial trial of this technology was so successful that Walmart quickly announced plans to implement it in 2,300 stores over the next two years.
Currently, Walmart associates spend a lot of time adjusting prices for new items, rollbacks, and markdowns by hand. With digital shelf labels, they will be able to update prices for thousands of products in just minutes using a mobile app.
Daniela Boscan, the Food & Consumable Team Lead at a Walmart in Hurst, Texas, shared that the digital labels have “transformed” her daily work routine. The technology has increased productivity and significantly reduced the time spent walking around the store.
“A price change that used to take an associate two days to complete now takes only minutes with the new DSL system. This efficiency allows us to spend more time helping customers and less time on repetitive tasks,” she explained.
The digital labels also improve the process of locating items on shelves, whether for restocking or fulfilling online orders.
While the new pricing system offers many benefits, there is some concern about the possibility of Walmart introducing dynamic pricing. Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen.