SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Walmart to change how you see prices in stores: What to know about digital shelf labels

Walmart is SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centertesting digital shelf labels in an effort to manage pricing and save time, the company announced.

The digital shelf labels are being tested at a Walmart location in Grapevine, Texas, about 24 miles northwest of Dallas.

The new pricing labels serve as a replacement for traditional paper labels, which needs to be adjusted by hand during price changes. They’ll be installed in 2,300 stores by 2026, wrote Daniela Boscan, a food and consumable team lead in Texas.

According to Boscan, the digital labels will help employees save time because Walmart carries over 120,000 products with individual price tags. The traditional tags have to be changed individually each week during pricing updates, Rollbacks and markdowns.

“Digital shelf labels, developed by Vusion Group, allow us to update prices at the shelf using a mobile app, reducing the need to walk around the store to change paper tags by hand and giving us more time to support customers in the store,” she wrote.

A spokesperson for Walmart said the digital shelf labels are currently in 63 stores, including 32 in Texas. The company started its pilot program in 2023 and said its success led them to add more digital shelf labels to other stores across the United States.

"We will continue to outfit more and more stores with the DSLs throughout this year, and into next year," the company said in a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday afternoon.

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Digital shelf labels make price changes easier, Walmart says

So far, the digital shelf labels have increased productivity and reduced walking time, she wrote, and price changes that used to take two days now take minutes.

The digital shelf labels also come with a “Stock to Light” feature, which allows associates to flash an LED light on the shelf tag using a mobile device and see which locations need work. 

“This feature makes it easier for associates to identify shelf location when stocking shelves,” Boscan wrote.

There is also a “Pick to Light” feature that helps employees easily find products for online orders, making the process faster and more accurate.

”It is not only about improving efficiency and customer satisfaction, but also about integrating sustainability into our work, in this case, to help reduce operational waste,” she wrote in the release. “We are excited about the positive impact this innovation will have on our operations and the environment.”

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her at[email protected].