There is nothing particularly wrong with an electronic price tag unless the key driver is to facilitate non-stop price gouging. Wal-mart may or may not be considering the possibilities.
“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.
Translated to Wal-mart that would be a bad idea. The average shopper there has an expectation of the lowest possible price. If I am some unfamiliar part of the country, the sight of a Wal-mart gives me a sense of anchoring - I know what I can expect once I get inside. There will not be a situation where a tomato is marked heirloom and priced at $8 each. At a Wal-mart things are predictable and there is a certain joy in that when the travel has already been long and eventful. It would be great to see things remain that way.
While the labels give retailers the ability to increase prices suddenly, Gallino doubts companies like Walmart will take advantage of the technology in that way.
“To be honest, I don’t think that’s the underlying main driver of this,” Gallino said. “These are companies that tend to have a long-term relationship with their customers and I think the risk of frustrating them could be too risky, so I would be surprised if they try to do that.”
Rather than seeing an opportunity to use surge pricing, Gallino says retailers are likely drawn to electronic shelf tags to ensure consistency between online and in-store pricing.
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