Walmart won’t hike prices based on your shopping history, CEO says

Walmart's CEO John Furner told customers the retailer will not adjust prices based on personal information, shopping history, perceived ability to pay, or the time of day. Furner framed the company's move to digital shelf labels as an operational change intended to reduce the workload for store associates, not as a tool for dynamic pricing.

In his letter, Furner explicitly said that factors such as a customer's income, past purchases, urgency, or even conversations with Walmart's Sparky AI assistant will not be used to alter prices. He also emphasized that situational factors — for example, buying items on a hot afternoon or while in a rush — would not justify charging a customer more.

Walmart's reassurance follows the retailer's announcement that it plans to deploy digital shelf labels across all U.S. stores by the end of the year, a move that had prompted scrutiny about the potential for algorithm-driven price changes. The announcement comes amid growing regulatory attention: the Federal Trade Commission is developing a policy on personalized pricing, and some states have already enacted or proposed rules addressing algorithmic pricing practices.

New York requires retailers to disclose the use of algorithmic pricing, while New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland have moved to prohibit using customers' personal data to change prices, illustrating the regulatory backdrop to Walmart's public assurance. Furner's letter aims to allay those concerns by committing the company to not use the new digital labels for personalized or time-based price adjustments.