Walmart CEO John Furner wants to clear the air about how the retail giant is using new pricing technology.
“We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t,” he said in a memo to employees and customers on Friday.
Furner said he was responding to questions he’s received this year about how the company is implementing new digital shelf labels and the AI-powered shopping assistant, Sparky.
“When you engage with Sparky, that’s an invitation to serve you better not to use your personal information to set a personalized price,” he said. “We’ve never used the relationships our associates have with customers to charge more, and we won’t do that with AI.”
Furner also said that any form of personalized pricing would violate the company’s decades-long commitment to being an everyday low-price retailer.
“We price the product, not the person,” Furner said.
Walmart and its competitors have faced growing public scrutiny over the rollout of both online shopping assistants and in-store digital tech that critics say could be used to selectively hike prices on individual customers.
The company has said its focus on using the tech is to improve the efficiency of its stores and deliver a better shopping experience for customers.
Read the full memo from Walmart CEO John Furner:
- We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t. Your income, shopping history, urgency or what we think you could pay won’t change the price. And whether you’re buying groceries or electronics on a hot afternoon or in a sudden rush for an item, it’s never a reason to charge you more.
- We’ll hold our shopping tools to the same promise. We won’t use the information you share with us on Sparky or otherwise to raise your price or hide lower-priced options that meet your needs.
- We’ll continue to use your information responsibly and respect your choices. You decide whether to share additional details for more personalized help. We’ll continue to be clear about how we use that information, protect it and honor the choices you make. When you do share, we will focus that data on ways that better serve you.
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