Consumer Anxiety Grows Over AI-Assisted Pricing in Retail

U.S. consumers are expressing confusion and anger over how major retailers and restaurant chains are setting prices using high-tech methods, such as digital price tags and artificial intelligence tools. These tools help businesses predict customer responses to determine charges, leading to terms like “dynamic pricing” and “surveillance pricing” being discussed online. Katie Thomas, who leads the consumer behavior think tank at Kearney, noted that there are major tensions regarding who controls these algorithms: the companies or the shoppers.

The adoption of AI-assisted pricing tools by major retailers is changing how everyday spending is managed, moving beyond traditional paper tags. While some companies, like Walmart, state that digital price tags save workers’ time and keep prices updated, the use of algorithms to set prices is stirring anxiety about price fairness among consumers.