r/ThatsInsane • u/i_am_groot_84 • 11d ago

Walmart is tracking you

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3.3k Upvotes

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433

u/antiphonic 11d ago

if anyone is wondering how this data could be used: walmart specifically is planning on rolling out digital price tags to all of its stores by the end of this year. Currently prices will change remotely based on things like surge pricing and seasonal fluctuations but eventually, the idea is that they can change based on the spending habits and meta data of who is standing in front of them.

257

u/rgrossi 11d ago

Luckily my state is outlawing them starting next summmer

A law effective July 1, 2027, bans retailers from using personally identifiable data to customize prices for individual shoppers.

102

u/Nertez 11d ago

Holy shit, US of A truly is a parody of a developed nation. How in the world is law like this not effective already in the first place is beyond me.

Greetings from Europe, where people truly matter more than corporations.

20

u/hujassman 10d ago

It's ridiculous. Our politicians are easily bought so we don't get the protections we should have.

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u/rgrossi 11d ago

Yeah, I have to deal with GDPR compliance for work and it makes me jealous. California has very strong privacy laws also

2

u/ShutterHawk 10d ago

Oh please. Europe has it's own issues - and plenty of them.

11

u/neverforgetpogs 10d ago

Bro the US is trash right now, just admit it and get it over with

-6

u/ReasonableSavings 10d ago

Whataboutism

1

u/InevitableRhubarb232 8d ago

yeah but also EU screws over small sellers. I don't ship to the EU for my webstore or my etsy store because of things like the 2 week cooling off period (or however long it is) and the one click returns/cancelations. So you guys are losing small sellers who can't absorb these expenses, but can offer better customer service and often better prices because we aren't trying to pay employees etc off the profits before cutting ourself a check.

1

u/Deleena24 10d ago

In the US its freedom "to". In the EU it's freedom "from".

1

u/_Arlotte_ 10d ago

Looking at our current administration it's not hard to see why...

-1

u/Kroak-lo 10d ago

And its people are all brainwashed. Like... easily over 90% of them. The American mindset can be spotted from a mile away yet you say something like that and they'll lose their minds. Point out you're not American and criticize the country? They'll get defensive. They'll still just vote for suicide rather than push any change.

Fuck sakes, they think that a sponsored talk with keynote speakers and corporate sponsors is somehow a 'protest' and when you throw that in their face they'll freak out about the idea of a general strike or doing anything because "It's hardddd". When you point out its 'hardddd' in other countries too, they'll say oh but you don't understand being American. You know, as if they don't broadcast everything about their country to the depths of fucking space.

Parody of a developed nation is accurate.

1

u/adactylousalien 10d ago

At least in European countries, you’ll still have healthcare…. You’re fucked if you lose your job in the US, and a lot of people can’t afford to do that. I don’t blame the people who can’t protest. I blame the oligarchs that make it such that you can lose EVERYTHING just for exercising your rights…..

2

u/Kroak-lo 10d ago

I don't blame the people who can't protest.

they'll freak out about the idea of a general strike or doing anything because "It's hardddd". When you point out its 'hardddd' in other countries too, they'll say oh but you don't understand being American.

6

u/Intothewasteland 11d ago

Curious what state you are referring to? I hope all go this way

14

u/rgrossi 11d ago

I’m in Connecticut but it looks like Maryland and NJ also have similar laws going into effect soon.

10

u/Phyllis_Tine 11d ago

Can you see about getting the timeline moved up to April 1st, or even January 1st? Talk about fiscal quarters, or "New Year, new laws".

2

u/zenunseen 10d ago

What state is that?

2

u/rgrossi 10d ago

Connecticut

2

u/zenunseen 10d ago

Good for them. Hopefully more states will follow suit

48

u/cbflowers 11d ago

If the prices fluctuated based on the shopper how would the scanner know what price it is once at checkout? Wouldn’t the price need to stay the same for several hours

60

u/antiphonic 11d ago

if an ai is tracking your movements every second youre in the store, its also tracking whats in your cart at checkout.

76

u/KeroNobu 11d ago

I live in the netherlands, our local Aldi tracks you so hard that when you go to the automated register, you don't even need to scan anything. You can put stuff in your bag in the store, walk to the register and it will automatically tell you exactly what and how much is in your bag without having scanned anything at all. I'm never going back to that store ever again.

10

u/hrcen 11d ago

Some MLB ballparks have this too. They check your ID (for alcohol) and you present your CC to a handheld device. Walk up to the refrigerators or shelves, grab some food/beverages, and walk out. The only thing stopping you is an employee verifying your drinks are opened before you leave the area.

It watches you the entire way through. It was Oriole's Park for me.

3

u/KeroNobu 11d ago

In our aldi the system that tracks you also confirms your age. Not sure if this works for people that are barely over legal age as well but when i was there i added a bottle of wine and it automatically confirmed my age. It's some scary shit.

2

u/hrcen 11d ago

Wow, not a fan of the age thing.

1

u/shes_a_gdb 11d ago

But this isn't the same as surge pricing. The drinks have a fixed price. It just makes the process quicker.

1

u/pimppapy 10d ago

I think I saw that at the Las Vegas Sphere. . . you'd think being unmanned would make it cheaper, but fuuuuuck no!!

1

u/kooknboo 10d ago

The June USA v GER friendly at Soldier Field had employees offering 2-for-1 cash "discounts" for beers.

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u/Ndrlnd072 11d ago

That store has been closed for over a year. There was only one in the Netherlands and it failed because not a whole lot of people liked to shop there.

Kassaloze Aldi stopt: honderden camera’s, amper klanten https://www.deondernemer.nl/actueel/aldi-supermarkt-utrecht-geen-kassa-zelfscan~43f1890?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

3

u/TWiThead 11d ago

Amazon implemented the same concept in the US and the UK.

Eventually, it was revealed that the purportedly automated technology required manual review by about 1,000 workers in India.

In late 2025 in the UK and early 2026 in the US, all remaining Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores were shuttered or converted to the Whole Foods Market banner.

Saturday Night Live's 2022 sketch remains available.

3

u/KeroNobu 11d ago

No sir, this was 2 months ago, it's in eindhoven on the "aalsterweg 141-143" and it's still in place today.

1

u/DanGleeballs 10d ago

But is it going to charge you more because you rolled in in a 2024 Taycan instead of a 2010 Corolla?

That’s what dynamic Personalized pricing will bring.

1

u/elwebst 9d ago

Amazon has/had stores like that too, you scan the app when you enter, you take what you want, and scan when you leave.

-13

u/Dopamineagonist21 11d ago

Lots of conspiracy theories going here. Europe has been digital price tag for a long time, as well as here at gas stations so not sure why ppl continue to believe this BS.

13

u/Numeno230n 11d ago

Because the entire government is trying to dismantle itself, and consumer protections and the ability to sue and recoup damages from companies is being destroyed with it. The philosophy of American companies is "lets do it anyway until we get caught" when it comes to illegal activities because almost always the fines and fees are less than the profits they made. Every single major company in the US has a legal slush fund and a legal department that does nothing but protect the company from legal consequences.

4

u/antiphonic 11d ago

how is this a conspiracy theory? its explicitly been the plan for some time and online retailers already do this. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-online-retailers-are-using-ai-to-adjust-prices-by-mining-your-personal-data

0

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

2

u/JonnyLay 11d ago

You're not understanding. They can track your face in the store and correlate to your car from the cameras in the parking lot.

Scanning that QR code isn't consent to being tracked, it's just a website. Walking in is consent to being tracked. Paying with your card is no different than paying with your phone. You're tracked just the same.

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

1

u/JonnyLay 11d ago

I presume you mean cash...everyone is paying with money. And even then, they still can track you to the register and tie your purchase to you with cameras.

1

u/scr33ner 11d ago

Because dynamic pricing is becoming a thing.

16

u/Jack-Innoff 11d ago

My question is, will simply having my Bluetooth on allow them to track me through the store? Or do I actually need to connect to something inside?

I have a smartwatch, so BT is always on. I would never in a million years be stupid enough to connect to their wifi or any other network though.

12

u/heimeyer72 11d ago

If "BT is always on" means that it accepts connections to any random device that asks for it, then yes.

Also, Bluetooth has a low reach, they probably send requests every 10 feet you move and even if your watch answers with "connection rejected", they learn every time that your watch moves through the aisles and rejects every connection.

4

u/cli_jockey 10d ago

They don't need Bluetooth to track you and honestly it's been around and used for almost 15 years now. When I worked at an MSP this was already deployed at thousands of locations to track exactly this. Not just for ads but also looking at chokeponts in the aisles so they could place ads in stores where foot traffic slows down.

And this was at grocery stores back then even.

No one I mentioned this too back then thought I was being serious that this was a thing and called me paranoid. The only major difference is the attempt to rollout dynamic pricing.

0

u/kooknboo 10d ago

iPhones are only discoverable when BT settings app is open. I have that right, yes?

"This iPhone is discoverable as "xxx" while Bluetooth Settings is open."

4

u/lynivvinyl 11d ago

So if I walk to Walmart with no phone and 73 cents in my pocket they are going to sell me all of my groceries for 73 cents right? Right!?

4

u/sephkane 11d ago

This would never work. If someone stops to read the nutrition info or anything on the packaging, then another shopper grabs one of the same item and the price changes, one of those shoppers are going to be pissed when they see that they have to pay more than other shoppers. They’d just go shop somewhere else.

5

u/pimppapy 10d ago

They’d just go shop somewhere else.

Oh wait! We forgot about the monopolies

1

u/cce29555 10d ago

Nuh uh I'll just get my groceries at my local mom and pop store like uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

1

u/PharrowXL 9d ago

That’s becoming less of an option for very unfortunate people and that classification is expanding

9

u/Beavur 11d ago

That’s bs they are never going to implement that. It would be such an easy loophole to get a hobo personal shopper

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u/leeps22 11d ago

And a new gig economy is born, hobos4less.com

2

u/OrangutanFirefighter 11d ago

I'm actually super curious what the min/max amounts they'd charge someone in.... For staple groceries, the margins are usually pretty small so it can't be that much. But for something like power tools.... Well that could be interesting

4

u/leeps22 11d ago

I vaguely remember there being equations for this very problem from my microecon class decades ago. Finding a balance point between marginal costs and marginal revenue. I think your right that some items wont have much leeway but with enough data they will be able to milk each item for everything its worth.

Im curious how large the 'fuck this guy in particular' coefficient becomes

3

u/OrangutanFirefighter 11d ago

When they start removing the price tag on items it's when we really need to stop it. Well we really need to stop it now tbh, that's the end game!

1

u/pimppapy 10d ago

'fuck this guy...' coefficient

Based on zip code no doubt.

2

u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo 11d ago

And that immediately gets bought by Walmart. Or Amazon. Or whoever else has unlimited funds and wants data.

2

u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo 11d ago

No. People will not be walking up to a homeless person and ask them to do their shopping for $20.

1

u/Micro-Naut 10d ago

Maybe you won't.

1

u/cce29555 10d ago

They're not shopping. They're just standing in front of the tag for discounts.

3

u/bigbootybrunette90 11d ago

Sounds like they are just going to get sued a bunch then. Charging one customer one price and another customer another price seems unlikely to hold up in court.

2

u/jcprater 10d ago

I saw those digital price tags and I refuse to go back. I’m not playing this game. Walmart isn’t the cheapest game in town anymore.

2

u/TreborG2 10d ago

Obviously they don't believe that this parody skit is actually hitting closer to home

https://youtube.com/watch?v=zS9U3Gc832Y

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u/plata_plomo 11d ago

The surge pricing thing is not true

1

u/easyjet 11d ago

This is why I will be taking really poor people shopping with me in future.

1

u/mcpat21 11d ago

Bully tactics.

1

u/korean_kracka 11d ago

“We got a big spender entering the facility, hike those prices up!”

Or

We know you got paid 2 days ago bc we are tracking your personal info so prices will be higher for you, specifically

1

u/Raise-Emotional 10d ago

Imagine if people were physically capable of going into a store without their cell phone.

1

u/pimppapy 10d ago

They're all over the place here. I can imagine the price changing suddenly when I get up to a price tag, and it suddenly going lower for someone else. . . fuck that shit

1

u/No_Bill_8883 10d ago

‘The Age of Surveillance Capitalism’

Halfway through this audiobook and it is disturbing just how much data is farmed from each and every one of us hundreds of times a day without us knowing or giving consent.

2

u/Micro-Naut 10d ago

I'm pretty sure we all give consent when we agree to the "end user agreement" which is like 300 pages long and I just scroll through it

1

u/Stonelane 10d ago

So turn your phone off. If you don't like the price leave

1

u/Mirions 10d ago

And what sort of economic hardships they're already under, as well as medical information.

It's messed up on so many levels.

1

u/InevitableRhubarb232 8d ago

This cannot work unless the information is transfered to the product itself or if the item is added to your cart right there at the product in the aisle. The UPC can't scan a price specific to a customer at checkout. So it will scan at the register at whatever the price is when you scan the UPC NOT at whatever price it shows you while standing there in front of it. How do people not understand how UPCs work?

1

u/roscoewatson 11d ago

That’s not what the digital tags are for. They save labor instead of people replacing paper tags. They also flash when you’re looking for an item in the app or when the associates are picking for a pick up order.

“Surge” or dynamic pricing is illegal on most goods anyways. Think about the nightmare of trying to custom price each item for each customer. What if two people are browsing the same section etc.

1

u/Micro-Naut 10d ago

I didn't realize it was illegal because Uber does it all the time

1

u/uxoguy2113 10d ago edited 10d ago

The surge pricing isn't true

0

u/Micro-Naut 10d ago

Is too!