Walmart dynamic pricing, its coming!!

[tvguy]

I don't see how dynamic pricing can work in such a way. What if you put something in your cart and when you go to check out the price is higher than it was when you picked it up off the shelf?

My point as well. Probably illegal too. And Walmart's entire business strategy is for no item to be in their store more than 2 weeks. So it's easy for them to change the price on the shelf if the replacement inventory has a different price when they restock with new inventory.
Kind of an interesting concept with 2 weeks max in the store. Their terms with supplies are 30 days after delivery, so that item you are buying at Walmart hasn't even been paid for by Walmart yet.

 

[dioxide45]

Hurricane shifts course, area Walmarts, Targets, Krogers raise their price of bottled water by $3-$5 a pack. I just hate to see something like this happen.

Florida has anti price gouging laws and I suspect many other states do also. That said, I don't really have a problem with prices going up in situations like this. It prevents people from buying more than they probably think they need. Many will think twice before loading up on 20 cases of water at $10 a piece when they are regularly $5. Price increases soften demand. Maybe there will still be some product there for people that don't get up at the crack of dawn to buy out the entire supply.

Price gouging laws also prevent people from bringing products to a market where there is short supply. Like the guy that was arrested for buying generators in Kentucky and bringing them to Mississippi after Katrina. He bought them for $1000 and planed to sell them for $2000 but they considered that price gouging. He was arrested, the generators confiscated and no one got any. He took the risk, rented a truck to help people out and make some money. That is what a free market is. Price gouging laws, while maybe noble and help get votes, are anti free market.

 

[mom2rtk]

No it’s Amazon orders. I belong to a slickdeals group and whenever a lot of people order an item, then they raise the price. It happens all the time yet don’t hear people talking about the corporate greed of Amazon?!?

I think the "corporate greed" part is just assumed when talking about Amazon.

 

[SL6827]

Florida has anti price gouging laws and I suspect many other states do also. That said, I don't really have a problem with prices going up in situations like this. It prevents people from buying more than they probably think they need. Many will think twice before loading up on 20 cases of water at $10 a piece when they are regularly $5. Price increases soften demand. Maybe there will still be some product there for people that don't get up at the crack of dawn to buy out the entire supply.

Price gouging laws also prevent people from bringing products to a market where there is short supply. Like the guy that was arrested for buying generators in Kentucky and bringing them to Mississippi after Katrina. He bought them for $1000 and planed to sell them for $2000 but they considered that price gouging. He was arrested, the generators confiscated and no one got any. He took the risk, rented a truck to help people out and make some money. That is what a free market is. Price gouging laws, while maybe noble and help get votes, are anti free market.

Would a $3-$5 hike be considered gouging? I really don't know.

 

[SL6827]

I think the "corporate greed" part is just assumed when talking about Amazon.

I didn't know Amazon did this. Ughhhh.

 

[dioxide45]

Would a $3-$5 hike be considered gouging? I really don't know.

It doesn't seem that the law really defines it. It just says "gross disparity" and "unconscionable increase".

 

[JOLT]

No it’s Amazon orders. I belong to a slickdeals group and whenever a lot of people order an item, then they raise the price. It happens all the time yet don’t hear people talking about the corporate greed of Amazon?!?

I was giving an example that it could also be a different seller which happens. Slickdeals will send a lot of people to an item wouldn't it be stupid for amazon not to supply and demand price on an already clearance item?

 

[Dakota731]

I was giving an example that it could also be a different seller which happens. Slickdeals will send a lot of people to an item wouldn't it be stupid for amazon not to supply and demand price on an already clearance item?

No clearance item, no private seller. It’s just algorithms Amazon has that if people are buying a lot of one item at a certain time, then they up the price. For example a deal of toilet paper goes out and through the internet a lot of people buy the item, then Amazon will often up the price to make more money off the hot deals. It’s not a new concept to Amazon, but when rumor is that Walmart might attempt the same policy, all heck breaks loose.
What kills me is that the same people who want stores or restaurants to pay $20 an hour for unskilled labor, then have a fit when the companies have to raise prices. The only entity that can to operate hemorrhaging millions of dollars is our federal government. Private enterprises need to make a profit to supply jobs and services.

 

[dioxide45]

It’s not a new concept to Amazon, but when rumor is that Walmart might attempt the same policy, all heck breaks loose.

The difference is with Amazon you are buying online and paying the price shown. WIth Walmart you may be paying a different price at checkout than it was at the time you picked the item up off the shelf.

 

[Dakota731]

The difference is with Amazon you are buying online and paying the price shown. WIth Walmart you may be paying a different price at checkout than it was at the time you picked the item up off the shelf.

As previous other posters have says, that wasn’t what the article said and doubtful that would ever happen. Though I must say I’ve often put items in my cart at Amazon l and until I check out the price has gone up.

 

[JOLT]

The difference is with Amazon you are buying online and paying the price shown. WIth Walmart you may be paying a different price at checkout than it was at the time you picked the item up off the shelf.

our Walmart updates the prices in their system before they update shelf prices. I always do Scan and go and notice the prices differences. when I bring it up to them they always say "oh well we haven't updated the shelf price yet. it will change in a few days"


I still dont understand why wouldn't amazon use a supply demand pricing on a deeply discounted item?

 

[dioxide45]

our Walmart updates the prices in their system before they update shelf prices. I always do Scan and go and notice the prices differences. when I bring it up to them they always say "oh well we haven't updated the shelf price yet. it will change in a few days"


I still dont understand why wouldn't amazon use a supply demand pricing on a deeply discounted item?

But is the price you are actually paying lower than the price on the shelf? If so, there is nothing wrong with that. If it is higher, that is illegal.

 

[JOLT]

But is the price you are actually paying lower than the price on the shelf? If so, there is nothing wrong with that. If it is higher, that is illegal.

not its normally more than on the shelf. they have always price matched the shelf. I think I tried to look it up and its a grey area.

 

[RivShore]

What kills me is that the same people who want stores or restaurants to pay $20 an hour for unskilled labor, then have a fit when the companies have to raise prices. The only entity that can to operate hemorrhaging millions of dollars is our federal government. Private enterprises need to make a profit to supply jobs and services.

It seems there are some on here who consider any profit to be evil greediness.

Just pay everyone more than they are worth and charge less than the product or service is worth, that's about the only way they would be happy.

 

[FCDub]

If THIS is the Walmart capitalism that warrants outrage, you haven't been paying attention to everything else they've done.

 

[Dakota731]

If THIS is the Walmart capitalism that warrants outrage, you haven't been paying attention to everything else they've done.

And yet no one seems to care about other companies misdeeds such as how Apple’s cobalt batteries are built on the backs of child labor in mines. But we can be very picky about our moral outrage in this country when it’s products we enjoy.

 

[tvguy]

If THIS is the Walmart capitalism that warrants outrage, you haven't been paying attention to everything else they've done.

They certainly aren't perfect, but overall they are better than their competitors. If I compare my local Walmart to my local chain grocery store. Yes, they pay a lower salary, but most of the Walmart employees are full time with full benefits. My local union grocery store, the threshold for benefits is working over 19.5 hours a week. But few work that many hours so the store can avoid having to provide benefits. So no vacation, medical care or retirement. My wife's nephew worked at Walmart for 5 years and was shocked a few months after he quit when he got a letter asking what he wanted to do with his stock. He cashed out $60,000 in stock! That more than made up for the lower wages.

 

[Dakota731]

They certainly aren't perfect, but overall they are better than their competitors. If I compare my local Walmart to my local chain grocery store. Yes, they pay a lower salary, but most of the Walmart employees are full time with full benefits. My local union grocery store, the threshold for benefits is working over 19.5 hours a week. But few work that many hours so the store can avoid having to provide benefits. So no vacation, medical care or retirement. My wife's nephew worked at Walmart for 5 years and was shocked a few months after he quit when he got a letter asking what he wanted to do with his stock. He cashed out $60,000 in stock! That more than made up for the lower wages.

From Supermarketnews.com The new starting annual BASE wage will range from $90,000 to $170,000 for Walmart managers moving the average up to $128,000. Previously, store managers were pulling in $65,000 to $170,000. According to Walmart, about 75% of store managers started on an hourly pay. If store profits are on goal, annual bonuses can EQUAL base salary. The bonus program for the floor leaders also is being revamped.
My friend’s son was a cart boy at a Walmart and even he got bonuses! But most people nowadays don’t want to start out at the bottom. They think they will earn $100,000 right from the start without ever working the crappy hours and doing the grunt work.

 

[RivShore]

From Supermarketnews.com The new starting annual BASE wage will range from $90,000 to $170,000 for Walmart managers moving the average up to $128,000. Previously, store managers were pulling in $65,000 to $170,000. According to Walmart, about 75% of store managers started on an hourly pay. If store profits are on goal, annual bonuses can EQUAL base salary. The bonus program for the floor leaders also is being revamped.
My friend’s son was a cart boy at a Walmart and even he got bonuses! But most people nowadays don’t want to start out at the bottom. They think they will earn $100,000 right from the start without ever working the crappy hours and doing the grunt work.

Wow! That is decent money and should really lead to a better store experience for us customers...yet every single Walmart I have been in has been a mess - cluttered aisles, long lines, very unhelpful employees if, God forbid, you ever ask a question or do a return...yikes!

 

[QueenIsabella]

Wow! That is decent money and should really lead to a better store experience for us customers...yet every single Walmart I have been in has been a mess - cluttered aisles, long lines, very unhelpful employees if, God forbid, you ever ask a question or do a return...yikes!

It very much depends on the Walmart. The one closest to me now is pretty decent--helpful staff, pretty clean, etc. The one on the other side of town is sketchier. The Walmarts where I've lived have always been pleasant places to shop. That said, I went to one in Philadelphia that was absolutely terrible.