The new labels allow employees to change prices as often as every ten seconds.

“If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream. If there’s something that’s close to the expiration date, we can lower the price — that’s the good news,” said Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst.

Apps like Uber already use surge pricing, in which higher demand leads to higher prices in real time. Companies across industries have caused controversy with talk of implementing surge pricing, with fast-food restaurant Wendy’s making headlines most recently. Electronic shelf labels allow the same strategy to be applied at grocery stores, but are not the only reason why retailers may make the switch.

  • ssj2marx@lemmy.ml
    6·
    8 days ago

    It might be possible to make an open-source app that causes your phone to spit out a different ID that is optimized for the lowest prices, triggering an adblocker-style arms race.

    • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
      3·
      8 days ago

      Both Apple and Android randomize MAC addresses now, so the easiest form of tracking is already dead.

      I like the idea of cloing “low prices” identifiers, but you would need an inside man letting thr app know what those are, and at that point the Corpos could also get that info.

      Im sure these systems try various other fingerprinting. The most likely is the apps they all push on you for discounts and curbside pickup now. They likely have location data/etc all turned on and tracking, along with your all your purchaing data to micro target you.

      I’d expect “kill all radio signals” to be the most direct answer that they can’t hack around. The old ways are sometimes best.