Walmart Stock Climbs Amid Pricing Practices Dispute With Consumer Advocate
Walmart's (WMT) stock rose despite a public dispute with consumer advocate Lindsay Owens over pricing practices. Owens, CEO of the Groundwork Collaborative, released a report alleging that Walmart's technology patents suggest the company is developing tools to track shoppers and adjust prices dynamically. The report claims these tools could estimate a child's age to steer families toward certain products, run pricing experiments, withhold coupons from willing full-price payers, and change item prices based on a customer's cart contents.
Walmart responded with a letter from Dan Bartlett, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, calling the report a mischaracterization. Bartlett stated that Walmart does not use personal information, shopping history, or other factors to set individualized prices. He clarified that digital shelf labels replace paper tags for efficient price changes and do not identify customers or independently set prices. He also denied using AI chatbot Sparky to upcharge customers, asserting that higher spending by Sparky users does not prove price manipulation.
Owens stood firm, arguing that Walmart's conflicting statements, made to customers, investors, and patent offices, raise concerns about privacy and pricing transparency. She urged Walmart to clarify how Sparky uses consumer data and whether sensitive information could be misused. Despite the controversy, Walmart's stock has a Strong Buy consensus on TipRanks, with a price target implying a 20.92% upside.