This isn’t talking about price gouging. Or at least, not that second part of the title. The full quote is:

“when customers engage with Sparky, their average order value jumps 40%.”

This is talking about ignorant customers getting talked into adding more to their order than they originally planned, by an AI that is designed to encourage people to buy as much as possible. Walmart isn’t changing the price of products that are ordered through the AI tool.

Still shitty behavior but it’s just another marketing tool and marketing has been finding ways to influence customers to buy more things since the dawn of time.

A far more concerning quote from the article for me would be:

Walmart has filed a patent for technology that can unmask anonymous cell phone data after a single store visit, then track where shoppers live, how they commute to work, and what restaurants they frequent

Four states this year have banned surveillance pricing.

Expect 2/3 of them, most likely, to do the same... but the law moves slowly, so in the interim you'll see major retailers speedrunning the effort to get these practices normalized. Obviously there won't be any leadership or meaningful regulation of it whatsoever at the federal level, at least here in the US.

So they were lying when they claim they were not going use the digital tags to price gouge. I'm not surprised the Waltons are bunch of evil bastards of course they are doing this.

Fucking apps.

Y'all seriously need to stop using all apps. I know you won't, I know you'll defend them, I know "not all apps", but, yeah, ALL apps. They have one purpose and that is to control you. Control what you think by keeping us divided, and prompt you to buy crap you don't need.

They keep us divided from each other, from nature, and from ourselves.

Fuck AI and fuck apps.

https://www.bravenewfilms.org/walmartmovie

I went to order someþing from Walmart because it was available; it was $22. On a lark I checked Amazon; it was $16 for þe identical item. Free shipping for boþ, so it was literally Walmart markup.

I'm far less likely to click þrough to a Walmart link now.

Well, this is the first article I really feel has some plausible things that I find pretty troubling. Definitely some of those things I'd like to see outlawed.

That said, in GENERAL, if I'm at Walmart, I am there to buy stuff I need. I have noticed since being able to shop online that some things are much easier to find online because they'll pop up in a search for something else, and I'll be like "ooh, thing exists? Let's try thing!" and especially with my ADHD, shopping in-store....... there is a LOT of the shelves. So frankly, and I know I'll get hate for this - if they wouldn't fucking sell my data................ if they want to use some data to try and figure out what I might be interested in buying, I sort of have an xkcd-type reaction of "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" - I hate ads mostly because they are almost always completely uninteresting to me. IF you want to market something I want............. I mean, that's not so bad. AGain, a lot of the listed things are really really bad shit, so I'm just saying part of it and as a general idea. I still don't want them tracking me generally. I'm just saying I think a nuanced take is not sucking Walmart's dick here. heh

What I REALLY wish, though, is that other stores would set up delivery the same - in-store prices instead of the like 20% added cost PLUS delivery fees on top. Especially if Aldi were to pull that off. Walmart has done an amazing job - especially the InHome service, which as a wheelchair users is fantastic for me. If you have a house and can install a special lock, they can bring groceries in and put in your fridge/freezer. I don't have that, but still, they bring them inside for me - I just have them set them on the floor. So I don't have to go up and down my steep ramp where it's difficult to get stuff in. It's like $150/yr but also means no delivery fees and you do not even have the ability to tip, which makes that price absolutely worth it. And the online shoipping experience with Walmart is sitll ahead of everyone else I've tried.

I WANT to give someone else my money...... it's just that I can't afford the other "name brand" stores' prices, much less prices + instacart delivery.

There is so much I hate about Walmart, but I have to mostly shop there because the preponderance of the attributes mean they still win. Dammit. Someone do better! (I do get some stuff from Prime's grocery delivery, but cost, selection, shopping experience are less good, and they deliver outside my door so I have to manage to get it all up the ramp (in my lap as I'm pitched forward going up the ramp backward) and inside..........)