Walmart is on the defensive after a bombshell Groundwork Collaborative report that it has patented technology to personalize prices. According to the Oct. 5 report, "The Walmart Watchtower," several patent applications describe the data Walmart can collect about its users, from songs on your playlist to your credit report.
Dynamic pricing is the practice of changing prices in a 24-hour period depending on conditions like the weather, and it's something that some policymakers are fighting against. Surveillance pricing, which is similar, uses customer behavior and characteristics to price the same products differently.
"Combined with the miles-long list of personal data it collects on shoppers, outlined in its most recent privacy notice, these patents show Walmart building detailed consumer profiles — and the infrastructure to deepen them — seemingly so it can price people, not products," the report states.
The report goes on to allege that Walmart plans on charging more depending on who a customer is and what they need, such as charging new parents more for baby products. Another example is adjusting prices based on items in one's cart, like charging more for mayo if someone is already buying tuna.
The report also discusses Walmart's in-house AI shopping assistant, "Sparky," and claims that customers who use it spend more than those who don't (and that Walmart executives brag about this).
The report is written by Groundwork's president and CEO, Lindsay Owens, and its vice president of policy, advocacy, and research, Elizabeth Pancotti.
Walmart's executive vice president of corporate affairs, Dan Bartlett, responded to the report the same day with an open letter on X (and on Walmart's website) specifically to Owens. He denied Groundwork's accusations, saying the report repeatedly mischaracterizes Walmart's pricing practices and use of technology. Walmart won't pursue dynamic pricing and has committed not to, he said.
"Your comments about Sparky also draw unfounded conclusions. We do not use AI to upcharge our customers," he added.
Owens then responded to the "baseless attacks" on Oct. 5 with a new statement. She said, "The confusion around Walmart's pricing practices is of its own making. Walmart says one thing in its damage-control letters to customers, another to its investors behind closed doors, and a different thing entirely to the United States Patent and Trademark Office."
She said she released a new analysis of Walmart patents so Americans can decide for themselves. She also voices concerns about Spark's capabilities and safeguards, particularly following the Hugging Face incident.
Groundwork Collaborative was also part of the Dec. 2025 Consumer Reports investigation about Instacart's price tests, which it claimed upped customers' grocery bills. Instacart ended the tests after a public outcry from both customers and politicians.
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