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this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
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While they're at it, investigate the use of digital price tags on store shelves, especially grocery stores
I would much rather have to deal with digital tags then stupid paper based ones. If they were done properly it should just be a simple "update price" and it sets to both. With paper tags you have employees that don't update all locations so you get discrepancies.
I think the worry is that they can change the prices dynamically based on who is in the area.
That... seems like a silly concern? At best I think you could pull off tricks based on specific timeslots of the day/week (e.g.: lunch rush, weekends, business hours) and most of that was already realistically feasible through bossing around normal humans -- no tech required.
Maybe I'm off-base, but it seems to me like the following things would severely hamper the efforts of anyone attempting to do this at scale:
All of that effort in exchange for what? A few extra quarters on the margin if you do it right but losing a few dimes on the margin (or a class action suit) otherwise? I can already see middle-manager heads exploding in contrition. It might happen someday once active AI store management finally oozes into place... but until that day comes I think shoppers can feel safe knowing that they are merely getting gouged in the same old fashion as their forebearers.
"that guy looks loaded, pop the prices, quick"
But what happens when they put the items in their cart and walk to a different area before walking to the checkout? Seems like that'd be difficult to track in a brick and mortar store. Online, this absolutely does happen.
that's gonna been with paper-based as well but yeah I can totally see it happening
With paper based, they're paying employees to go around and alter the prices, which is too expensive and time consuming.
Digital price tags can be changed on the fly, at once, potentially even automatically.
Uh not instantly. Not storewide in a moment. Make it networked and you can change prices per customer as they walk each aisle.
And that's my point. The digital tags are already being setup that they can adjust within under a minute. People get off work at 4-5pm, better jack up prices for the next few hours!
A bunch of people buying bread at a given time, jack up prices!
Recorded a larger number of people entering through the front turnstile. Yup, pump up those prices!
And with digital tags they can update at any time, so unless you've got a video camera running to price that bread was $3.99 and not $4.99 when you picked it up off the shelf...
?? I don't think paper was stopping them from adjusting prices as needed.
What about them?
They commonly don't reflect the actual price at checkout. It's difficult for consumers to track and catch, and be if apathy (they didn't get around to changing the prices which are sometimes volatile) or malevolence, it's still an issue.
Just wait until you use that stores phone app for "discounts" and the wifi/mac address sensors stores already use to track generic customer habits also dynamically updates the price based on your past purchases and public data about you as a person.
Some stores have moved to scanner guns/pick it up and go checkout so once you pick it up it gets easy to leave, reducing price checking/indecison.
Bundle all this together and you can have dynamic, person to person gouging based on socio-economic level.
Ooof, wow. That would be illegal in my country.