October 11, 2026 09:00 AM PST
(PenniesToSave.com) – Walmart has been replacing paper price tags with digital shelf labels in stores across the country, and the change has put a simple question in front of anyone who buys groceries there: will the price on the shelf be the same for everyone [3]? A watchdog group says the retailer’s own patents describe technology that could set prices for individual shoppers based on what is in their carts, where they live, and what they have bought before [4][5]. Walmart’s leadership says flatly that the company does not and will not price that way [2][5].
The dispute came to a head on Monday, Oct. 5, when the Groundwork Collaborative released a report titled “The Walmart Watchtower: Patents Speak Louder Than Pledges” [4][5]. Walmart answered the same day with an open letter from a senior executive, and the group’s leader responded before the day was out [4][5]. By Oct. 8, the fight had reached national television [1].
At stake is something most households take for granted: a posted price that means what it says. The country’s largest retailer has made public commitments on that point, and critics argue its patent filings point somewhere else. Both accounts deserve a fair hearing, and the details matter for every grocery budget.
Quick Links
- What Is Surveillance Pricing, and How Does It Differ From Dynamic Pricing?
- What Do Walmart’s Patents Actually Describe?
- How Is Walmart Answering the Allegations?
- Where Do the Two Accounts Collide?
- Why Is Personalized Pricing Drawing Concern Across Party Lines?
- What Can Be Done to Protect the Household Budget?
What Is Surveillance Pricing, and How Does It Differ From Dynamic Pricing?
Two terms tend to get blurred in this debate, and the difference matters. Dynamic pricing refers to changing prices within a 24-hour period in response to conditions such as the weather [4]. A store that raises the price of an item when demand spikes is practicing dynamic pricing. Surveillance pricing goes further. It uses information about a specific customer, including behavior and personal characteristics, to charge different people different prices for the same product [3][4].
The most prominent critic of the practice is Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of the Groundwork Collaborative and author of the book Gouged [3][5]. Owens has argued that companies tracking their customers’ personal information is a major contributor to the cost-of-living crisis [1]. Her report on Walmart was co-written with Elizabeth Pancotti, the group’s vice president of policy, advocacy, and research [4][5].
For anyone working to build a household budget that holds up when prices rise, the distinction is more than academic. A price that moves with supply and demand is a familiar part of a market economy. A price that moves based on who is standing at the register is something different, because it turns personal information into a bargaining chip held entirely by the seller. A posted price that applies equally to every customer has long been one of the simplest forms of fair dealing between a business and the public, and that principle sits at the center of this dispute.
What Do Walmart’s Patents Actually Describe?
The clearest piece of evidence in the dispute is a patent Walmart already holds. Patent US11687872B2, titled “System and method for remote controlling of electronic shelf labels,” was submitted in 2018 and granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2023 [3]. According to an excerpt published by Gizmodo, the patent describes labels and prices that can change dynamically [3]. For shoppers using scan and go, the price of one item could vary based on what is already in the cart, and a customer with tuna fish might be offered a different price for mayonnaise [3]. The same passage describes adjusting prices based on product supply and demand [3].
Groundwork’s report goes much further. The group says it identified more than a dozen patents that Walmart holds or has applied for [5]. According to the report, the patented technology can estimate a child’s age from past purchases and steer families toward certain products and price points as children grow [5]. The group also alleges it can run pricing experiments that push prices higher over time to learn how much a shopper will pay, withhold coupons from customers expected to pay full price, and set the prices shown in online search results based on purchase history and location [5]. In one example cited by the group, one customer is shown a $90 price while another sees $110 [5].
Pending applications, which have not been granted, describe even more, according to Groundwork [5]. The group says they cover facial recognition, in-store cameras, Wi-Fi signals, and heart-rate or glucose data used to measure reactions to products, along with social media monitoring to decide coupon eligibility and tracking of daily routines such as kids’ sports practices, exercise classes, and visits to friends and relatives [5]. The report also cites Walmart’s own privacy notice, saying the data the company collects ranges from songs on a playlist to credit reports, and alleges the company could charge new parents more for baby products [4]. Each of these describes a capability on paper, not a documented practice in stores.
How Is Walmart Answering the Allegations?
Walmart has answered on two fronts. The first came from John Furner, the company’s president and CEO, in an open letter to customers last month [2][5]. Furner wrote that Every Day Low Prices has been Walmart’s pricing principle for more than 50 years, and that prices rise or fall based on what an item costs to buy or transport [2]. Using a customer’s income, shopping history, or moment of need to charge more, he wrote, would break that promise, and the company will not do it [2].
“We price the product, not the person.” [2]
John Furner, President and CEO, Walmart
Furner also addressed the digital shelf labels directly. He wrote that the labels exist so the shelf price matches what rings up at checkout, and that they save associates the time once spent changing paper tags by hand [2]. He closed with three commitments. Walmart will not set prices based on who a customer is or the time of day. It will not use information shared with Sparky, its AI shopping assistant, to raise prices or hide cheaper options. And it will keep people in charge of pricing while testing its technology against those promises [2].
The second response came from Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, who published an open letter to Owens on X and on Walmart’s website the day the report came out [4][5]. Bartlett stated that Walmart does not and will not use personal information, income, shopping history, urgency, or willingness to pay to set an individual price, and that it does not raise prices on a hot afternoon or ahead of a snowstorm [5]. On the patents, he argued that a patent describes potential capabilities and does not show that a company has deployed them or intends to [3]. He said tuna in a cart does not cause Walmart to charge more for mayonnaise, asked Owens to correct the record, and said the company does not use AI to upcharge customers [3][4].
Where Do the Two Accounts Collide?
The sharpest point of conflict involves Sparky, the AI shopping assistant Walmart launched last year [5]. Walmart U.S. CEO David Guggina reportedly told investors last month that average order value jumps 40% when customers engage with Sparky [5]. Groundwork cites that figure as evidence that Walmart executives promote the assistant’s ability to increase spending [3][5]. Bartlett has said the group drew unfounded conclusions about Sparky [4].
The figure measures total spending per order, not the price of any individual item, so a larger basket and a higher price are not the same thing. Owens, however, argues that the number exposes a gap between how the company speaks to investors and how it speaks to customers. Responding to Bartlett the same day, she said any confusion about Walmart’s pricing is of the company’s own making, and that Walmart tells customers one story, investors another, and the Patent and Trademark Office a third [4][5].
“Shoppers will have to decide whether to believe Walmart’s patent applications or its PR statements.” [5]
Lindsay Owens, President and CEO, Groundwork Collaborative
Owens has called on Walmart to publicly disclose what data Sparky can see, how that information shapes its recommendations and purchases, and whether sensitive consumer information could be exposed or misused [5]. She said the new patent analysis would let Americans decide for themselves whether to accept the company’s denials [4][5].
The way the claim has traveled also deserves attention. An Oct. 8 MS NOW segment described Walmart as reportedly planning digital price tags that change prices based on customers’ personal data [1]. That description reflects Groundwork’s allegation [4]. Walmart has denied it in writing twice, once from its CEO and once from its head of corporate affairs [2][5].
Why Is Personalized Pricing Drawing Concern Across Party Lines?
Concern about personalized pricing does not fall neatly along partisan lines. In August, Owens testified before Congress about how consumers are being gouged, appearing as the expert witness for Republican Sen. Josh Hawley [3]. The pairing reflects a broader point. Privacy, honest dealing, and protection from being singled out at the register are values that cut across the political spectrum.
Recent history shows the issue can move a company quickly. Groundwork took part in a December 2025 Consumer Reports investigation into price tests at Instacart, which the group claimed raised customers’ grocery bills [4]. Instacart ended the tests after a public outcry from both customers and politicians [4]. That outcome is a reminder that informed customers hold real leverage over the businesses they choose to support.
Some policymakers are working to limit dynamic pricing [4], and the MS NOW segment featuring Owens carried the message that lawmakers need to step in [1]. Whether the answer ultimately lies in new rules or in transparency and competition, the debate rests on a principle most people share. A price should be tied to the item on the shelf, and personal information should not become a tool to charge one customer more than the next.
What Can Be Done to Protect the Household Budget?
Walmart’s public commitments give customers a practical way to hold the company to its word. Furner has written that a shelf price should match what rings up at checkout [2]. Comparing the shelf label against the receipt before leaving the store is a simple habit, and pairing it with a reliable system for tracking expenses makes any mismatch easier to spot and dispute.
Personal data deserves the same attention. Furner has said that sharing additional details with Sparky is the customer’s choice [2], while Owens has urged caution about what the assistant can see [5]. Limiting what goes into AI shopping tools reduces the information available to any pricing system, whatever a company’s stated intentions. The Groundwork report points to Walmart’s own privacy notice as a guide to what the company collects [4], and reviewing it is a reasonable place to start.
Groundwork’s example of one customer seeing $90 and another seeing $110 for the same item [5] points to one more habit worth building. Comparing prices across the app, the website, and the store, including occasionally while signed out of an account, makes it easier to notice if a price shifts depending on who is looking.
Coupons call for a closer look as well. Groundwork alleges that Walmart’s patents describe withholding coupons from shoppers expected to pay full price [5]. Seeking out offers and cashback and rewards programs directly, rather than waiting for them to appear, keeps more control in the shopper’s hands.
Final Thoughts
Walmart’s leaders have made specific, public promises about how the company sets prices, and those promises now serve as a yardstick [2][5]. Furner has committed that pricing will not depend on who a customer is, and Bartlett has said the company has committed not to pursue individualized or dynamic pricing [2][5]. Commitments stated that plainly are easy to measure against what happens in stores.
The patents describe what the technology could do [3][5]. Walmart says a patent shows capability, not intent [3]. Owens says the company’s filings, investor comments, and customer letters do not line up [4][5]. A fair reading holds both points at once. Owning a patent is not proof of wrongdoing, and a public pledge is not proof of restraint.
For households, the most dependable protection is attention. Checking receipts, guarding personal data, and comparing prices across channels are habits that pay off no matter which account proves accurate. Retailers earn trust one transaction at a time, and every shopper has a role in making sure a posted price still means what it says.
Works Cited
[1] “‘Lawmakers Need to Step In’: Walmart Reportedly Plans Controversial ‘Surveillance Pricing’ System.” The 11th Hour with Ali Velshi, MS NOW, 8 Oct. 2026, www.ms.now/11th-hour/watch/lawmakers-need-to-step-in-walmart-reportedly-plans-controversial-surveillance-pricing-system-2516771395946.
[2] Thompson, Scott. “Walmart Addresses Shopper Pricing and AI Concerns: Last Week’s Most Read Retail Technology Articles.” Retail Technology Innovation Hub, 5 Oct. 2026, retailtechinnovationhub.com/home/2026/10/4/walmart-addresses-shopper-pricing-and-ai-concerns-last-weeks-most-read-retail-technology-articles.
[3] Novak, Matt. “Walmart Denies Plans for Surveillance Pricing Despite Holding Patents for Surveillance Pricing.” Gizmodo, 10 Oct. 2026, gizmodo.com/walmart-denies-plans-for-surveillance-pricing-despite-holding-patents-for-surveillance-pricing-2000824482.
[4] Iovine, Anna. “Walmart Says It Won’t Personalize Prices Despite Personalized Pricing Patents.” Mashable, 10 Oct. 2026, mashable.com/tech/walmart-says-it-wont-personalize-prices-despite-patents.
[5] Conley, Julia. “New Report Reveals Walmart’s Patents for Price-Gouging Tech.” Truthout, 6 Oct. 2026, truthout.org/articles/new-report-reveals-walmarts-patents-for-price-gouging-tech/. Originally published in Common Dreams.