#esls — Public Fediverse posts

Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and 13 colleagues wrote to the CEO of the supermarket behemoth #Kroger in November about electronic price tags (often called #electronic #shelf #labels or #ESLs ).
These digital displays allow companies to change prices automatically from a mobile app.
Tlaib warned that this so-called “#dynamic #pricing” permits retailers to adjust prices based on their whims.
Just as #Uber raises prices during storms or rush hour, retailers like Kroger use ESLs to adjust prices based on factors like time of day or the weather.
Supermarkets could conceivably mine a shopper’s personal data to set prices as high as possible.
“My concern is that these tools will be abused in the pursuit of profit, surging prices on essential goods in areas with fewer and fewer grocery stores,” Tlaib wrote.
In August, Senators Elizabeth #Warren and Bob #Casey wrote to Kroger raising similar concerns about #price #gouging.
Noting that the company has already implemented the technology in hundreds of stores across the county, they warned that
“ESLs may help Kroger extract maximum profits from consumers at a time when…high grocery prices are a leading concern among Americans who are concerned about inflation.”
Warren and Casey also voiced concern about Kroger’s partnership with Microsoft to install #facial-#recognition technology in stores,
which could be used to identify individual customers:
When a shopper approaches the shelf, she would see a price calibrated specifically for her.
The next shopper might pay a different amount based on their profile.
Retailers could use shopper data to charge higher prices to those who can afford to pay more, but since stores do not have to disclose who is making pricing decisions or why,
the senators worry that shoppers on a budget are particularly vulnerable.
“It is outrageous that, as families continue to struggle to pay to put food on the table, grocery giants like Kroger continue to roll out #surge #pricing and other corporate #profiteering schemes,” they wrote

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/retail-grocery-automation-esl-kroger/

"It’s unclear whether Kroger will respond to the lawmakers. The company ignored a prior letter from Representative Tlaib and previously dismissed concerns about ESLs, saying that the negative effects of the technology have been exaggerated. Meanwhile, other chains are moving swiftly to install dynamic pricing technology. Walmart plans to install the tags in 2,300 stores by 2026. The nation’s largest retailer emphasized the benefit to shoppers: “This efficiency means we can spend more time assisting customers.”

The experiences of workers cast doubt on such claims. I spoke to William Knight, a 10-year veteran of the grocery industry who spends their off hours crafting cyberpunk stories inspired by the novel Neuromancer. (Knight’s latest is a dystopian tale about an America ruled by just three corporations.) On the job, the 31-year-old has often found themselves on the other side of the crisis that Bagley described. Working as a cashier and maintenance person in a Utah chain, Knight was regularly conscripted to work in e-commerce, which put them behind on their official duties. “I’m not necessarily against [automation], but a new technology should be regulated. It’s too young to be pushed to everyone and should stay in Silicon Valley,” they said."

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/retail-grocery-automation-esl-kroger/

#USA #Automation #Retail #ESLs #Kroger #ElectronicPriceTags #DynamicPricing