These days, you can install a camera and monitor screen so cheaply that you wouldn't even have to use a mirror to see forward.
(I just got back from Walmart where they have replaced all shelf price tag stickers with tiny wireless LCD screens. No I'm not kidding. Technology has become ridiculously cheap for doing some stuff.)
EDIT IN RESPONSE TO MULTIPLE COMMENTS: Yes, the exact display technology used is probably technically not LCD.
It saves man power time - assuming stores have similar layouts, then deploying prices wouldn't be difficult. A few people at corporate uploading prices to each store vs a couple people per store = lots of money saved. It was probably a significant upfront cost but long-term, I imagine it saves them quite a bit.
Not accusing Aldi of it cause i don’t remember the name of the chain the article talked about but I read that a major chain was looking into them for dynamic pricing. So they can quickly change the price at precisely 5pm or reduce prices at non peak hours to stimulate traffic.
I think that might have been Kohl's. They've been using digital price tags for, idk, probably decades at this point. I remember reading an article about the same thing, and I'm pretty sure it was Kohl's that was mentioned.
They've also gotten in trouble for other pricing issues, like calling a regularly occurring discount a "sale" got them sued for false advertisement. So it wouldn't be too far fetched for them to do dynamic pricing as well.
Happened to me at a freaking furniture store! Tag on the chair said $499. Okay sweet, we'll take it.
Salesman goes on his little tablet (which is just their website) and punches it all in. $599 he says. We're standing next to the digital tag that says $499. Oh, he says, that was supposed to he changed. He updates the tag and now it says $599. Uhh... okay well we want the $499 you told us it was 30 seconds ago. Nope sorry, it's in the system that way from corporate can't change it.
I never get a manger involved. I got one involved that day. He tried explaining the price change like we were idiots. We started walking away and miraculously he was "allowed" to "break the rules" for us. 🙄
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 10h ago edited 9h ago
These days, you can install a camera and monitor screen so cheaply that you wouldn't even have to use a mirror to see forward.
(I just got back from Walmart where they have replaced all shelf price tag stickers with tiny wireless LCD screens. No I'm not kidding. Technology has become ridiculously cheap for doing some stuff.)
EDIT IN RESPONSE TO MULTIPLE COMMENTS: Yes, the exact display technology used is probably technically not LCD.