Walmart has published an open letter disputing claims of pricing that varies in real time, which it says have been repeatedly mischaracterized by Lindsay Owens, an economist and executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative. The letter, signed by Dan Bartlett, EVP of corporate affairs, asks Owens to correct the information she has presented.
The letter responds to public statements by Owens, whose recent book “Gouged” examines corporate pricing technology. Owens’ organization has published research citing Walmart patents as evidence the retailer is building infrastructure for pricing that changes in response to demand and is personalized for individual customers.
According to the letter, the facts are straightforward: Walmart prices products, not people. Bartlett wrote that Walmart does not use individual customer information to set prices and does not engage in pricing that changes in real time.
The letter addresses several of Owens’ claims, including digital shelf labels, which Owens described as infrastructure for pricing that can be changed quickly. Bartlett wrote that these labels replace paper tags and display approved price changes more efficiently.
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On patents, Bartlett wrote that a patent describes potential capabilities, not practices that are currently in use. He also pushed back on Owens’ statements about Sparky, Walmart’s AI shopping assistant, which she connected to higher customer spending.
Bartlett wrote that higher average order values do not establish that customers were charged higher prices for the same items. He offered Owens a conversation while asking her to publicly correct the statements, saying they welcome scrutiny, but criticism must be based on fact, not speculation.
The letter is Walmart’s most direct engagement in the debate over pricing that is based on customer data, following President and CEO John Furner’s September pledge that Walmart would not use personalized pricing. Maryland’s first-in-the-nation ban on pricing based on customer surveillance took effect Oct. 1, amid growing scrutiny of the practice across the industry.
They note that the ban is a significant development in the ongoing discussion about pricing practices. It is a step that reflects the concerns of lawmakers and the public about the potential impact of pricing that varies in real time on consumers.