Jharonne Marti, head of consumer research at LSEG, discusses the consumer mindset and Walmart’s overreaction to the idea of ”Making Money.”
Walmart assures its customers that it will not use personal data or AI to personalize prices.
In a letter released Friday, Walmart Chairman and CEO John Furner reaffirmed the retail giant’s long-standing strategy of “everyday low prices,” saying the company prices “the product, not the person.”
“I’ve heard concerns about companies using this information and technology to charge you more,” Furner said. “I want to tell you where we are: we price the product, not the person.”
Furner said prices can fluctuate when the cost of goods or transportation changes, but stressed that Walmart will not use a customer’s income, purchasing history, urgency or other personal information to set prices.
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Walmart assures its customers that it will not use personal data to charge different prices to different shoppers. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We won’t,” Furner said. “YOU are at the heart of our WHY and our relationship with you has always been based on trust. For decades, our associates have built this trust, one interaction at a time.
“So as technology improves, we pay the same attention to trust and service to you as when you walk into our stores and clubs.”
Furner also addressed Walmart’s rollout of digital shelf labels, saying the technology aims to improve pricing accuracy while reducing the time employees spend replacing paper labels.
“The price on the shelf should match what it rings at the checkout. Digital shelf labels help us achieve this more consistently by showing the right price,” he said. “They also save associates time by replacing paper labels.”
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Furner also addressed Walmart’s rollout of digital shelf labels, saying the technology aims to improve pricing accuracy and reduce the time employees spend replacing paper labels. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Furner added: “This may seem like an easy task, but as someone who has had to change these paper labels by hand over the years, I can tell you that it is a time-consuming and thankless task.”
The CEO also detailed Walmart’s plans for artificial intelligence, including its AI shopping assistant, Sparky, noting that the tool is intended to provide more personalized shopping assistance.
“When you communicate with Sparky, it is an invitation to serve you better, not to use your personal information to set a personalized price. We have never used the relationships our associates have with customers to charge more, and we won’t do that with AI,” Furner said.
Walmart said it was making three commitments: It would not set different prices based on who the customer is or the time of day; it will not use information shared through Sparky to increase prices or hide cheaper options; and it will continue to give customers control over how their personal information is used.
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The CEO also detailed Walmart’s plans for artificial intelligence, including its AI shopping assistant, Sparky, saying the tool is intended to provide more personalized shopping assistance. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Semafor)
“Our collaborators will continue to oversee pricing, and we will monitor and test our technology against these commitments,” Furner said.
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“Thank you for trusting us with part of your family’s budget. If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this note, it’s how much we appreciate your trust in us. Technology will continue to evolve. Our responsibility to earn your trust and help you save money and live better will not.”
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