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Electronic shelf labels make it easier for a store to update prices, but the labels themselves do not decide what a product costs. They replace paper tags with electronic displays; a retailer’s pricing policies determine whether prices change, when they change and whether customer data is used. The technology makes rapid updates possible, but that capability alone does not show that a store is using surge pricing or setting individual shoppers different prices.
What an electronic shelf label does
An electronic shelf label (ESL), also called a digital price tag, is a small electronic display mounted on a store shelf in place of a paper price tag. A retailer can send updates through its systems, rather than having an employee print and replace each tag by hand. That can make price changes faster and reduce manual work in stores, according to retailer statements reported by the Los Angeles Times on August 16, 2024.
The distinction that matters is between the display system and the pricing rules behind it. An ESL can show a changed price; it does not establish why the retailer changed that price, whether a change was store-wide, or whether the price was selected using information about a particular shopper.
Could digital price tags lead to surge pricing?
They could make frequent price updates easier to carry out. That is a technical capability, not proof that a particular grocery chain is raising prices in response to demand, time of day or other changing conditions.
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In August 2024, the Los Angeles Times reported that Walmart and Kroger said they had no plans to use ESLs for dynamic, within-day price increases. Walmart’s spokesperson said updates would reflect lower sale or final-clearance prices and that prices would not change throughout the day. Kroger’s spokesperson said its tests were intended to lower prices for customers. These are statements reported in 2024, not a guarantee about every retailer or a promise covering later policies.
Concerns about what the technology could enable also appeared in a July 2024 letter to Kroger from U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey. They asked questions about the company’s EDGE system, including how prices were set and what safeguards applied to data. The letter raised concerns; it was not a finding that Kroger had used surge pricing or personalized prices. The senators wrote: “These digital price tags may enable Kroger and other grocery chains to transition to ‘dynamic pricing,’ in which the price of basic household goods could surge based on the time of day, the weather, or other transitory events.” Read the senators’ letter.
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Are stores changing prices based on who is shopping?
That is a different question from whether a store changes a shelf price. A general price update changes the displayed price for a product under the retailer’s pricing rules. Surveillance or personalized pricing means using information about a consumer to determine the price shown to that person. The existence of networked shelf displays does not, on its own, establish that this kind of individualized pricing is happening.
The 2024 Senate letter’s questions about data safeguards reflect concern about possible data use, not evidence that an individual shopper’s data was used to set a price on a shelf label. To establish that practice at a particular retailer would require evidence about the retailer’s actual pricing and data systems, not just the presence of ESLs.
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Why retailers and consumer advocates see the labels differently
Retailers have described ESLs in terms of store efficiency and price updates, including sales and clearance. Consumer advocates focus on the fact that faster updates can also make rapid algorithmic changes easier to implement, and on the effect that possibility may have on trust when grocery costs are already a concern.
Santiago Gallino, a professor specializing in retail management at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Los Angeles Times: “In my conversation with retailers, it’s clear that those who are pushing towards this technology are mainly trying to drive efficiency up in the stores and try to reduce costs.” That reported explanation describes the retailers he spoke with; it does not establish how every retailer uses ESLs.
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In a September 9, 2026 report, The Guardian quoted Sunny Glottmann, policy and programs manager at the AFL-CIO Tech Institute and a report co-author: “Electronic shelf labels create the infrastructure that would make rapid algorithmic price changes easier to implement at scale, and this raises concerns for consumers that are already struggling with grocery costs.” The concern is about infrastructure and potential use, rather than proof that stores have adopted a specific pricing practice.
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What the reported jobs and opinion figures mean
The Guardian’s 2026 reporting relayed estimates and polling from advocacy and union sources. They should be read as attributed projections and reported opinions, not observed outcomes or government statistics.
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| Figure | What it represents |
|---|---|
| 44,223 to 191,633 jobs | The AFL-CIO Tech Institute’s 2026 analysis modeled jobs potentially affected under universal adoption of ESLs. The Guardian said the analysis was based on label manufacturers’ marketing materials. This is a potential-impact estimate, not a count of layoffs. |
| $1.6 billion to $6.9 billion in annual wages | The AFL-CIO Tech Institute’s modeled estimate of annual lost wages under universal adoption. It is not a measured or realized economic loss. |
| 68% and 65% | In a UFCW poll from 2026, as reported by The Guardian, 68% of Americans reportedly believed surveillance pricing would increase grocery costs, and 65% believed digital price tags would do so. |
| About 67% and 26% | The same poll was reported as finding about 67% support for banning digital price tags and surveillance pricing, while 26% opposed a ban. |
The poll percentages describe reported beliefs and views, not whether either pricing practice is occurring. The Guardian’s figures are attributed to the UFCW poll; they should not be treated as government measurements or as proof of retailer behavior. The Guardian’s September 2026 report discusses the analysis and poll.
What research says about consumer trust
A 2025 experimental-study abstract in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services reports more consumer trust when tag information matched the promoted product. That finding concerns the match between displayed information and a promotion; it does not establish a universal response across stores, shoppers or uses of digital tags. It also does not resolve whether customers trust rapid price changes in general. See the study abstract.
What shoppers can do at the shelf
- Check the shelf display when comparing prices or deciding whether a promotion applies.
- Check the receipt after purchase if the amount charged does not match what you expected.
- If the shelf and checkout prices differ, ask store staff to clarify the price and how the store handles discrepancies.
Rules for shelf-price discrepancies vary by state and locality; the sources cited here do not establish one legal remedy that applies everywhere. Check current local consumer-protection rules if you need to know your rights in a specific place.
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