You might have noticed that the old-school paper pricing labels on your grocery store's shelves have recently turned into digital ones.
Known as electronic or digital shelf labels, these high-tech displays can be updated remotely, saving workers time and companies money.
Today, roughly 2,300 Walmart U.S. locations are already using digital shelf labels, and the technology is expected to be used chain-wide within the next year, according to a recent post on Walmart's corporate blog .
"Associates manage planned price changes through a centralized Walmart system, making it easier to keep shelf prices accurate and aligned with what customers see at checkout," the post states.
Whole Foods is also rolling out digital price tags across its U.S. stores. As of early 2026, about 150 of its 500-plus stores have adopted the technology, a spokesperson for the store told The Oregonian . And Kroger’s ESL device, called Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment (EDGE) Shelf, has also been rolling out across its stores in recent years.
Although they aim to help consumers, some shoppers fear that the new labels could be used for dynamic pricing, charging them more for items based on variables like high demand or peak shopping times.
"It’s important to remember that prices are the same for all customers in any given store and are consistent regardless of demand, time of day, or who is shopping," Walmart points out in its post.
Research backs up this claim. A 2025 report analyzed transaction data from a U.S. grocery chain before and after the installation of electronic shelf labels and found no evidence of surge pricing.
To prevent this predatory behavior, several states have introduced legislation targeting dynamic or "surveillance" pricing, and some even want to ban electronic shelf labels.
Walmart is trying to ease shoppers' concerns, saying that “DSLs [digital shelf labels] operate on a closed system and do not interact with shoppers or collect any information about them. Some have wondered what these labels can do. Once you see how simple they are, it clicks: there’s nothing like a camera or microphone in them, they just display prices."
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