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Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Shoppers are wary of digital shelf labels, but a study found they don't lead to price surges
Digital price labels, which are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at U.S. supermarkets, haven't led to demand-based pricing surges, according to a new study that examined five years' worth of prices at one grocery chain. But some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers remain skeptical about the tiny electronic screens, which let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand. 'It's corporations vs. the humans, and that chasm between us goes further and further,' said Dan Gallant, who works in sports media in Edmonton, Canada. Gallant's local Loblaws supermarket recently switched to digital labels. Social media is filled with warnings that grocers will use the technology to charge more for ice cream if it's hot outside, hike the price of umbrellas if it's raining or to gather information about customers. Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania fired off a letter to Kroger last fall demanding to know whether it would use its electronic labels as part of a dynamic pricing strategy. Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Maine have introduced bills to limit the use of digital labels. In Arizona, Democratic state Rep. Cesar Aguilar recently introduced a bill that would ban them altogether. The bill hasn't gotten a hearing, but Aguilar said he's determined to start a conversation about digital labels and how stores could abuse them. 'Grocery stores study when people go shopping the most. And so you might be able to see a price go down one day and then go up another day,' Aguilar told The Associated Press. Researchers say those fears are misplaced. A study published in late May found 'virtually no surge pricing' before or after electronic shelf labels were adopted. The study was authored by Ioannis Stamatopoulos of the University of Texas, Austin, Robert Evan Sanders of the University of California, San Diego and Robert Bray of Northwestern University The researchers looked at prices between 2019 and 2024 at an unnamed grocery chain than began using digital labels in October 2022. They found that temporary price increases affected 0.005% of products on any given day before electronic shelf labels were introduced, a share that increased by only 0.0006 percentage points after digital labels were installed. The study also determined that discounts were slightly more common after digital labels were introduced. Economists have long wondered why grocery prices don't change more often, according to Stamatopoulos. If bananas are about to expire, for example, it makes sense to lower the price on them. He said the cost of having workers change prices by hand could be one issue. But there's another reason: Shoppers watch grocery prices closely, and stores don't want to risk angering them. 'Selling groceries is not selling a couch. It's not a one-time transaction and you will never see them again,' Stamatopoulos said. 'You want them coming to the store every week.' Electronic price labels aren't new. They've been in use for more than a decade at groceries in Europe and some U.S. retailers, like Kohl's. But they've been slow to migrate to U.S. grocery stores. Only around 5% to 10% of U.S. supermarkets now have electronic labels, compared to 80% in Europe, said Amanda Oren, vice president of industry strategy for North American grocery at Relex Solutions, a technology company that helps retailers forecast demand. Oren said cost is one issue that has slowed the U.S. rollout. The tiny screens cost between $5 and $20, Oren said, but every product a store sells needs one, and the average supermarket has 100,000 or more individual products. Still, the U.S. industry is charging ahead. Walmart, the nation's largest grocer and retailer, hopes to have digital price labels at 2,300 U.S. stores by 2026. Kroger is expanding the use of digital labels this year after testing them at 20 stores. Whole Foods is testing the labels in nearly 50 stores. Companies say electronic price labels have tremendous advantages. Walmart says it used to take employees two days to change paper price labels on the 120,000 items it has in a typical store. With digital tags, it takes a few minutes. The labels can also be useful. Some have codes shoppers can scan to see recipes or nutrition information. Instacart has a system in thousands of U.S. stores, including Aldi and Schnucks, that flashes a light on the digital tag when Instacart shoppers are nearby to help them find products. Ahold Delhaize's Albert Heijn supermarket chain in the Netherlands and Belgium has been testing an artificial intelligence-enabled tool since 2022 that marks down prices on its digital labels every 15 minutes for products nearing expiration. The system has reduced more than 250 tons of food waste annually, the company said. But Warren and Casey are skeptical. In their letter to Kroger, the U.S. senators noted a partnership with Microsoft that planned to put cameras in grocery aisles and offer personalized deals to shoppers depending on their gender and age. In its response, Kroger said the prices shown on its digital labels were not connected to any sort of facial recognition technology. It also denied surging prices during periods of peak demand. 'Kroger's business model is built on a foundation of lowering prices to attract more customers,' the company said. Aguilar, the Arizona lawmaker, said he also opposes the transition to digital labels because he thinks they will cost jobs. His constituents have pointed out that grocery prices keep rising even though there are fewer workers in checkout lanes, he said. 'They are supposed to be part of our community, and that means hiring people from our community that fill those jobs,' Aguilar said. But Relex Solutions' Oren said she doesn't think cutting labor costs is the main reason stores deploy digital price tags. 'It's about working smarter, not harder, and being able to use that labor in better ways across the store rather than these very mundane, repetitive tasks,' she said. ___ AP Writers Anne D'Innocenzio in New York and Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix contributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Shoppers are wary of digital shelf labels, but a study found they don't lead to price surges
Digital price labels, which are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at U.S. supermarkets, haven't led to demand-based pricing surges, according to a new study that examined five years' worth of prices at one grocery chain. But some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers remain skeptical about the tiny electronic screens, which let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand. 'It's corporations vs. the humans, and that chasm between us goes further and further,' said Dan Gallant, who works in sports media in Edmonton, Canada. Gallant's local Loblaws supermarket recently switched to digital labels. Social media is filled with warnings that grocers will use the technology to charge more for ice cream if it's hot outside, hike the price of umbrellas if it's raining or to gather information about customers. Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania fired off a letter to Kroger last fall demanding to know whether it would use its electronic labels as part of a dynamic pricing strategy. Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Maine have introduced bills to limit the use of digital labels. In Arizona, Democratic state Rep. Cesar Aguilar recently introduced a bill that would ban them altogether. The bill hasn't gotten a hearing, but Aguilar said he's determined to start a conversation about digital labels and how stores could abuse them. 'Grocery stores study when people go shopping the most. And so you might be able to see a price go down one day and then go up another day,' Aguilar told The Associated Press. Researchers say those fears are misplaced. A study published in late May found 'virtually no surge pricing' before or after electronic shelf labels were adopted. The study was authored by Ioannis Stamatopoulos of the University of Texas, Austin, Robert Evan Sanders of the University of California, San Diego and Robert Bray of Northwestern University The researchers looked at prices between 2019 and 2024 at an unnamed grocery chain than began using digital labels in October 2022. They found that temporary price increases affected 0.005% of products on any given day before electronic shelf labels were introduced, a share that increased by only 0.0006 percentage points after digital labels were installed. The study also determined that discounts were slightly more common after digital labels were introduced. Economists have long wondered why grocery prices don't change more often, according to Stamatopoulos. If bananas are about to expire, for example, it makes sense to lower the price on them. He said the cost of having workers change prices by hand could be one issue. But there's another reason: Shoppers watch grocery prices closely, and stores don't want to risk angering them. 'Selling groceries is not selling a couch. It's not a one-time transaction and you will never see them again,' Stamatopoulos said. 'You want them coming to the store every week.' Electronic price labels aren't new. They've been in use for more than a decade at groceries in Europe and some U.S. retailers, like Kohl's. But they've been slow to migrate to U.S. grocery stores. Only around 5% to 10% of U.S. supermarkets now have electronic labels, compared to 80% in Europe, said Amanda Oren, vice president of industry strategy for North American grocery at Relex Solutions, a technology company that helps retailers forecast demand. Oren said cost is one issue that has slowed the U.S. rollout. The tiny screens cost between $5 and $20, Oren said, but every product a store sells needs one, and the average supermarket has 100,000 or more individual products. Still, the U.S. industry is charging ahead. Walmart, the nation's largest grocer and retailer, hopes to have digital price labels at 2,300 U.S. stores by 2026. Kroger is expanding the use of digital labels this year after testing them at 20 stores. Whole Foods is testing the labels in nearly 50 stores. Companies say electronic price labels have tremendous advantages. Walmart says it used to take employees two days to change paper price labels on the 120,000 items it has in a typical store. With digital tags, it takes a few minutes. The labels can also be useful. Some have codes shoppers can scan to see recipes or nutrition information. Instacart has a system in thousands of U.S. stores, including Aldi and Schnucks, that flashes a light on the digital tag when Instacart shoppers are nearby to help them find products. Ahold Delhaize's Albert Heijn supermarket chain in the Netherlands and Belgium has been testing an artificial intelligence-enabled tool since 2022 that marks down prices on its digital labels every 15 minutes for products nearing expiration. The system has reduced more than 250 tons of food waste annually, the company said. But Warren and Casey are skeptical. In their letter to Kroger, the U.S. senators noted a partnership with Microsoft that planned to put cameras in grocery aisles and offer personalized deals to shoppers depending on their gender and age. In its response, Kroger said the prices shown on its digital labels were not connected to any sort of facial recognition technology. It also denied surging prices during periods of peak demand. 'Kroger's business model is built on a foundation of lowering prices to attract more customers,' the company said. Aguilar, the Arizona lawmaker, said he also opposes the transition to digital labels because he thinks they will cost jobs. His constituents have pointed out that grocery prices keep rising even though there are fewer workers in checkout lanes, he said. 'They are supposed to be part of our community, and that means hiring people from our community that fill those jobs," Aguilar said. But Relex Solutions' Oren said she doesn't think cutting labor costs is the main reason stores deploy digital price tags. 'It's about working smarter, not harder, and being able to use that labor in better ways across the store rather than these very mundane, repetitive tasks,' she said. ___ AP Writers Anne D'Innocenzio in New York and Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix contributed. Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Shoppers are wary of digital shelf labels, but a study found they don't lead to price surges
Digital price labels, which are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at U.S. supermarkets, haven't led to demand-based pricing surges, according to a new study that examined five years' worth of prices at one grocery chain. But some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers remain skeptical about the tiny electronic screens, which let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand. 'It's corporations vs. the humans, and that chasm between us goes further and further,' said Dan Gallant, who works in sports media in Edmonton Canada. Gallant's local Loblaws supermarket recently switched to digital labels. Social media is filled with warnings that grocers will use the technology to charge more for ice cream if it's hot outside, hike the price of umbrellas if it's raining or to gather information about customers. Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania fired off a letter to Kroger last fall demanding to know whether it would use its electronic labels as part of a dynamic pricing strategy. Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Maine have introduced bills to limit the use of digital labels. In Arizona, Democratic state Rep. Cesar Aguilar recently introduced a bill that would ban them altogether. The bill hasn't gotten a hearing, but Aguilar said he's determined to start a conversation about digital labels and how stores could abuse them. 'Grocery stores study when people go shopping the most. And so you might be able to see a price go down one day and then go up another day,' Aguilar told The Associated Press. Researchers say those fears are misplaced. A study published in late May found 'virtually no surge pricing' before or after electronic shelf labels were adopted. The study was authored by Ioannis Stamatopoulos of the University of Texas, Austin, Robert Evan Sanders of the University of California, San Diego and Robert Bray of Northwestern University The researchers looked at prices between 2019 and 2024 at an unnamed grocery chain than began using digital labels in October 2022. They found that temporary price increases affected 0.005% of products on any given day before electronic shelf labels were introduced, a share that increased by only 0.0006 percentage points after digital labels were installed. The study also determined that discounts were slightly more common after digital labels were introduced. Economists have long wondered why grocery prices don't change more often, according to Stamatopoulos. If bananas are about to expire, for example, it makes sense to lower the price on them. He said the cost of having workers change prices by hand could be one issue. But there's another reason: Shoppers watch grocery prices closely, and stores don't want to risk angering them. 'Selling groceries is not selling a couch. It's not a one-time transaction and you will never see them again,' Stamatopoulos said. 'You want them coming to the store every week.' Electronic price labels aren't new. They've been in use for more than a decade at groceries in Europe and some U.S. retailers, like Kohl's. But they've been slow to migrate to U.S. grocery stores. Only around 5% to 10% of U.S. supermarkets now have electronic labels, compared to 80% in Europe, said Amanda Oren, vice president of industry strategy for North American grocery at Relex Solutions, a technology company that helps retailers forecast demand. Oren said cost is one issue that has slowed the U.S. rollout. The tiny screens cost between $5 and $20, Oren said, but every product a store sells needs one, and the average supermarket has 100,000 or more individual products. Still, the U.S. industry is charging ahead. Walmart, the nation's largest grocer and retailer, hopes to have digital price labels at 2,300 U.S. stores by 2026. Kroger is expanding the use of digital labels this year after testing them at 20 stores. Whole Foods is testing the labels in nearly 50 stores. Companies say electronic price labels have tremendous advantages. Walmart says it used to take employees two days to change paper price labels on the 120,000 items it has in a typical store. With digital tags, it takes a few minutes. The labels can also be useful. Some have codes shoppers can scan to see recipes or nutrition information. Instacart has a system in thousands of U.S. stores, including Aldi and Schnucks, that flashes a light on the digital tag when Instacart shoppers are nearby to help them find products. Ahold Delhaize's Albert Heijn supermarket chain in the Netherlands and Belgium has been testing an artificial intelligence-enabled tool since 2022 that marks down prices on its digital labels every 15 minutes for products nearing expiration. The system has reduced more than 250 tons of food waste annually, the company said. But Warren and Casey are skeptical. In their letter to Kroger, the U.S. senators noted a partnership with Microsoft that planned to put cameras in grocery aisles and offer personalized deals to shoppers depending on their gender and age. In its response, Kroger said the prices shown on its digital labels were not connected to any sort of facial recognition technology. It also denied surging prices during periods of peak demand. 'Kroger's business model is built on a foundation of lowering prices to attract more customers,' the company said. Aguilar, the Arizona lawmaker, said he also opposes the transition to digital labels because he thinks they will cost jobs. His constituents have pointed out that grocery prices keep rising even though there are fewer workers in checkout lanes, he said. 'They are supposed to be part of our community, and that means hiring people from our community that fill those jobs," Aguilar said. But Relex Solutions' Oren said she doesn't think cutting labor costs is the main reason stores deploy digital price tags. 'It's about working smarter, not harder, and being able to use that labor in better ways across the store rather than these very mundane, repetitive tasks,' she said. ___ AP Writers Anne D'Innocenzio in New York and Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix contributed.
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Telstra tax' nears $1000, consumer advocate says
The premium 'Telstra tax' will tick up to $1000 for customers next month when prices are hiked, a consumer advocate says. Researcher and advocate Joel Gibson says the premium paid for Telstra stacks up to about $300 to $400 per device or service. The analysis is comparing Telstra's offerings with the bare bones, cheapest options and does not consider Telstra's additional hardware, coverage and servicing guarantees. 'The 'Telstra tax' just keeps getting bigger and bigger each year, with millions of households probably paying more than $1000 extra now for the privilege of being with Telstra,' Mr Gibson said. 'There's nothing wrong with paying a tax if you know that you're paying it and you know what you're getting in exchange for it, but we suspect many are unaware they have a choice.' Mr Gibson acknowledges Telstra had the best regional coverage. Crunching the numbers for consumers using Telstra internet, a mobile plan and mobile phone, Mr Gibson says consumers can save $1000 per year. A former journalist and editor, Mr Gibson is now a consumer spending advocate under the title Joel Kills Bills. He and telco comparison site Whistle Out did this latest analysis together, using Telstra's July 1 price hike figures as a reference. From July 1, Telstra's standard NBN plan will be $408 more than budget provider Exetel. Recent government testing shows Exetel has faster download speeds; however, the consumer must pay for the modem. NBN Co is also raising its wholesale prices 3 per cent this coming financial year that the telcos are passing on to the consumer.
CBS News
02-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
If you're paying for things like protection plans and ATM fees, you could be wasting your money
Are you paying for these things? You could be wasting your money. Are you paying for these things? You could be wasting your money. Are you paying for these things? You could be wasting your money. Whether it's spending money on services you don't need or paying for products you could get for free, CBS News Philadelphia is In Your Corner to help you save money. The nonprofit consumer advocacy group Consumers' Checkbook recently released its list of 65 things it says you probably shouldn't be paying for. These are items or services, according to Consumers' Checkbook, that either won't save you money or can be had without paying at all. We picked out a few to highlight. Product protection plans From electronics to exercise bikes and office chairs, so many retailers now offer these plans. For a small additional fee at checkout or a monthly payment they promise added coverage for repairs in case something goes wrong. But Consumers' Checkbook general advises against them, arguing these protection plans are more of a hassle than they're worth because typical repairs usually won't cost that much, or parts that are typically the problem aren't actually covered. "These are really bad deals for most consumers. They're enormously profitable for the companies that sell them. That's why they push them so strongly," said Kevin Brasler, executive editor at Consumers' Checkbook. "But most consumers will find that even if you try to make a claim these companies deny most claims, and there's lots of fine print exclusions." Instead, Brasler suggests checking your credit cards because many automatically add some type of warrant on purchases. If you do opt for one of these plans, Brasler says make sure you know exactly what you're getting, what's covered, and for how long. It's also important to make sure you know how to file a claim. Some warranties require the original store receipt. Credit monitoring, reports, scores Keeping an eye on your credit doesn't have to cost you. While many identity theft monitoring systems charge a monthly fee, you can freeze your credit for free. Freezing your credit blocks bad actors from taking out a loan or opening a new credit card in your name. You can do it online with the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Much of the identity theft we see could be easily prevented if consumers would only freeze their credit files, according to the nonprofit consumer watchdog U.S. Public Information Research Group (PIRG). You don't have to pay to get your credit score either. Check with your bank, credit union or credit card provider, because many already let you see your FICO score for free. As for your credit report, under federal law you are entitled to one free copy of it each year. You can request yours through Just remember that's the only site authorized to give those free annual reports. ATM fees Consumers' Checkbook points out that ATM fees are another expense that doesn't have to cost you. You can avoid fees when using out-of-network machines by opting for cash-back when you pay with your debit card at grocery stores or similar retailers. Some banks and credit unions also offer accounts that will reimburse ATM fees. Basic economy fares Booking the cheapest airplane ticket you can find might not save you the money you think it will, according to Brasler. These fares generally carry the most restrictions, like not allowing you to change your trip for any reason. If you have to cancel or reschedule your flight you could lose out on a lot more than you saved with the basic fare. Additionally, many airlines will then charge you to check a bag or choose your seat. Unused subscriptions The average American forks over more than $900 a year on digital subscriptions. But you could be throwing money away on ones you don't use often, if at all. Consumers' Checkbook advises periodically doing an inventory of all of your subscriptions and canceling the ones you don't use. You can read the full list here on CBS Philadelphia viewers can use this link to gain free access to the entire Consumers' Checkbook website until the end of June. Have a money question, a consumer issue, or a scam story you want to share? Email InYourCorner@
