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Walmart Is Putting Digital Labels That Change Prices Instantly on Every Store Shelf in America (www.inc.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
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[–] 8 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Theoretically these have a lot of benefits as well, like saving on paper and ink. One barker could last as long as thousands of prices over its lifetime, and mean staff don't have to spend time changing them.

I mean, capitalism gonna capitalise and they'll be used for evil, mostly, but.

I wonder if they're all wired or run off batteries? If the former, then there's a single point of failure, if the latter then ho boy do I have a plan for a zigbee/wifi/whatever device.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    I wonder if they're all wired or run off batteries?

    Batteries. Asked my local store manager (aka my wife). She also added that if you have the Walmart app open and can't find an item on the shelf it will light the label up green so you can locate it.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    I wonder if they're all wired or run off batteries?

    Batteries, I asked my local store manager (aka my wife). She also added that if you have the Walmart app open and can't find an item on the shelf it will light the label up green so you can locate it.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child)

    They run off batteries. Usually an entire rail has one battery for all the tags. But they only need to use power to change the screen. I forget the type of screen but its like digital ink? They usually refresh and maybe change price around midnight where i work. They do run off of something wireless but hell if i know exactly how it works.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    that seems… unlikely, just because of the labour cost to change the batteries compared to a DC power supply and plugging the shelves in

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago*

    They have to change whats on shelves and distances between items all the time. So changing batteries isnt all that uncommon.They also are pretty power effecient since the displays are e-ink Edit: also we have a box of batteries in the back. If we notice a whole rail isnt displaying properly we can go grab a new one and have it switched out in like 2 minutes.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    I wonder if they're all wired or run off batteries?

    They may not be the same, but the ones we have in the EU, or at least the ones I've seen, run on batteries. They're not connected to anything. You can just yoink one and it works. I've seen some people do that and was tempted to myself. Not sure about the software side. If it's realistically possible to display something else entirely on them, then it'd be cool to have.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    Tear up the floors and put in micro generators that harness our footsteps that feed into the shelving and power the price tags wirelessly

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago*

    Its funny everyone shits the bed that prices might go up when low margin grocers raise prices, but the Fed is out there pumping out 8% more money supply a year, and they further increase that printing if that money simply bids up stocks or home values.

    Then they think its grocery stores raising prices 30c that's making billionaires trillionaires, not the annual 8% money supply growth actively debasing peoples wages. When you're measuring things in a rapidly expanding commodity what did people expect would happen?

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