At a typical Walmart, where some 140,000 unique items line the shelves—from canned corn to camping gear – each product comes with its own paper price tag.
Changing just a single aisle because of a sale or price shift, can take days. But that ritual may soon be obsolete, as Walmart and other retailers are testing or adopting Digital Shelf Labels (DSLs), small screen readouts that can update prices in seconds, no ladder or sticker gun required.
Walmart is planning to expand this new technology to 2,300 stores by 2026, after a successful pilot program in Grapevine, Texas, but in nearby Arizona, a State Representative is pushing back against the use of DSLs in that state.
Representative Cesar Aguilar wants to prohibit the use of DSLs in Arizona on the grounds that it could spark something called “Dynamic Pricing,” in which businesses adjust their prices in real-time based on supply and demand, and competition. In retail parlance, its referred to as surge pricing or demand pricing. He recently filed a bill in the state legislature to prohibit the use of DSLs in the state.
“My concern with digital pricing in grocery stores is that due to rapid inflation and studies in consumer products businesses will take advantage and charge different prices based on data they have,” Rep. Aguilar posted on his Facebook page on April 11, 2025. “They can charge eggs cheaper on Monday and increase it on Saturday if they know more folks shop on Saturday and they would be able to do it instantly.”
“My other concern is that as we are building more self-checkouts with new technology and it will lead to fewer people in our communities employed. Our grocery prices haven’t decreased with new technology, which I assume the cost of labor is the most expensive part. In a time when food prices continue to go up we need to hold corporate grocery stores accountable.”
Daniela Boscan, a food and consumables lead at a Walmart located in Hurst, Texas, said the DSLs are great tools and will free up workers like herself to devote more time to consumers. Walking through one of the pilot test stores in Grapevine, Texas, she showed off the new technology.
“Last year we replaced the traditional paper price tags with these new digital shelf labels (DSLs). Before digital shelf labels, doing a store price change took a couple of days and now it takes only minutes,” she said. Her description of the DSLs are part of Walmart’s public relations campaign touting the devices.
“Price updates are sent by the merchant team, and using my work phone, I can quickly update the shelf price. The prices and promotions displayed at the shelves are always up to date. The new digital shelf labels help to manage price changes automatically and fast, allowing me more time to do what matters most, helping our customers. We also use the digital shelf system to prepare online orders, using the Pick to Light feature on the DSLs, online orders can be prepared faster, and more accurately. Associates assembling customer orders are guided to the aisle and shelf location. The LED light helps us pick big customer orders faster and with more accuracy by spotlighting the product for the orders. The DSLs also help our replenishment process.
She added that DSLs also help with stocking items.
“When an associate is going to stock the items on the shelf it is easier to locate and place the item in the correct place, by flashing the tag. This technology helps us speed up the process, and makes our lives so much easier.”
In August 2024, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey sent a letter to the chairman and CEO of the Kroger Company, Rodney McMullen, about that chain’s use of the technology, which they referred to as Electronic Shelving Labels (ESLs). Kroger, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of the world’s largest food retailers, with fiscal 2024 sales of $147 billion, according to the company. Kroger also refers to the devices as Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment, or EDGE, which rely on Microsoft Azure. In addition to displaying prices, the displays show nutritional information, personalized advertisements, and coupons.
In the letter, the senators requested more information from Kroger, on the company’s intentions with the technology. Kroger initially started using ESLs in 2018.
“I write to you today regarding Kroger’s adoption and use of Electronic Shelving Labels in dozens of its grocery stores. 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 – allowing stores to calibrate price increases to extract maximum profits at a time when the amount of Americans’ income spent on food is at a 30-year high. Given these concerns, I write to request further information to better understand the justification for and risks of electronic shelving.”’
After Kroger embarked on the use of ESLs in 2018, Mr. McMullen posted on the company’s website that “Kroger is building a seamless ecosystem driven by data and technology to provide our customers with personalized food inspiration. We are identifying partners through Restock Kroger who will help us reinvent the customer experience and create new profit streams that will also accelerate our core business growth. We are excited to collaborate with Microsoft to redefine grocery retail.”
A Kroger spokesperson said the company is focused on providing great value for its customers. Whole Foods and Kohl’s are also integrating DSLs into their locations.
