Consumer apprehension grows as US retailers adopt AI-assisted pricing tools

Consumers are increasingly alarmed as US retailers and restaurant chains roll out AI-assisted pricing tools, according to reporting on dynamic and “surveillance” pricing. Digital shelf labels are replacing paper tags in grocery aisles, while algorithms predict how shoppers may respond to price changes. Social media users worry that different people could be charged different amounts for the same product, even as many already accept shifting fares for flights, hotels and rides. Kearney’s Katie Thomas says the power balance between companies and shoppers is a core tension, and that misinformation is spreading. Walmart CEO John Furner says digital labels save time and “price the product, not the person,” while regulators move to require transparency.