Walmart dynamic pricing, its coming!!

[SL6827]

Anazon has done that for many years. Prices can change by the hour.

Wouldn't surprise me. I could never tell, but I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[Skywalker3]

Anazon has done that for many years. Prices can change by the hour.

Yes! We've put things in our cart in the morning, and if we don't order right away, later on, same day, it'll have a higher price.

 

[JOLT]

Yes! We've put things in our cart in the morning, and if we don't order right away, later on, same day, it'll have a higher price.

that also could be that an item has multiple sellers and the cheaper seller no longer has stock.

 

[Skywalker3]

that also could be that an item has multiple sellers and the cheaper seller no longer has stock.

hmm, never thought of that. Seems like it has always been the same seller, usually it's a very specific item, like a specific T-shirt or logo shirt, etc. But not positive. I'm going to have to test this out

 

[SL6827]

Yes! We've put things in our cart in the morning, and if we don't order right away, later on, same day, it'll have a higher price.

Wow!!!

 

[SL6827]

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.

 

[tvguy]

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.

Well, CNBC did a 2 hour special on Walmart and their business model is to......as quickly as possible.....link prices to supplier prices. If they negotiate a lower price, when that inventory hits the stores, and if a supplier price went up, when that specific inventory hit the stores, the price went up. My wife's nephew managed a Walmart in the Houston suburbs when Hurricane Rita hit, and the price of water didn't change until his inventory sold out. It did go up because suppliers hiked the prices. But it was a mute point because all the relieve agencies were driving through neighborhoods with truck loads of free bottled water, so my wife's nephew was stuck with higher priced inventory that nobody was buying.

 

[RivShore]

that also could be that an item has multiple sellers and the cheaper seller no longer has stock.

That is probably it, I've had stuff bounce around from Amazon as the seller, to one 3rd party, and then to another. All with different prices. This is not surge pricing, they are just shifting you to other options as inventory runs out at each seller.

 

[Genie+]

Wouldn't surprise me. I could never tell, but I wouldn't doubt it.

My husband has many items in his amazon cart for ‘later’ which sends alerts for price changes. There’s alot of fluctuation. Mostly small but sometimes 30%+.

 

[mom2rtk]

So you never want them to offer any sales again?

Walmart doesn't really have sales.

 

[mom2rtk]

As a person who used to work retail in my younger days, I would have loved digital tags. The countless hours apon hours of putting up and taking down prices was the worst.

Dynamic prices already exists, anything your getting at market prices flucuates daily(not in the same day).

With that system the job you had would cease to exist. Stores would love it because they can cut labor costs.

 

[mom2rtk]

More likely would be the store would be able to detect what products you put into your cart. That is what the Amazon Go Stores do.

And Amazon recently admitted their system was just using lots of cameras and having low cost labor overseas watching. Not exactly fail proof.

 

[tvguy]

And Amazon recently admitted their system was just using lots of cameras and having low cost labor overseas watching. Not exactly fail proof.

No, so much so they have paused opening new stores. We have three "Amazon Fresh" stores in our area that over a year after they were supposed to open, are sitting empty. New, purpose built buildings. complete painted in Amazon Fresh colors, but never opened. And per Amazon policy, the company has never publicly admitted were their projects.

 

[MillauFr]

Walmart doesn't really have sales.

So all of those people on Black Friday were just rushing into the store for no reason?

 

[mom2rtk]

So all of those people on Black Friday were just rushing into the store for no reason?

Good point. But Black Friday is a different animal. The rest of the year they really don't. Walk through Target and you'll see 25 or 30% off certain categories of items. That's just never been something Walmart does.

 

[barkley]

Good point. But Black Friday is a different animal. The rest of the year they really don't. Walk through Target and you'll see 25 or 30% off certain categories of items. That's just never been something Walmart does.

what about walmart 'rollbacks'? right now on their website/in store they are advertising 'spring savings' like mens and women's crocs for $34.99 (vs $49.99), disney girl graphic t-shirts for $5.98 (vs. $10.98) and a variety of deals on mens/womens/kids pants. i've never walked into a walmart and not seen rollback sales on some category of item of another. this time of year is great for getting deals on polo shirts and other warmer weather clothes b/c our walmart is already begining to stock for 'back to school' (school is not even out yet here), it's sitting next to the july 4th stuff.

 

[mom2rtk]

what about walmart 'rollbacks'? right now on their website/in store they are advertising 'spring savings' like mens and women's crocs for $34.99 (vs $49.99), disney girl graphic t-shirts for $5.98 (vs. $10.98) and a variety of deals on mens/womens/kids pants. i've never walked into a walmart and not seen rollback sales on some category of item of another. this time of year is great for getting deals on polo shirts and other warmer weather clothes b/c our walmart is already begining to stock for 'back to school' (school is not even out yet here), it's sitting next to the july 4th stuff.

I might be wrong, but I think "rollbacks" stay at that new price? I don't think those are really sale prices in the sense that the price goes back to "regular price" in a week.

I guess I'll know soon. The 24 pack of Diet Coke just had a "rollback" from 13.48 to 11.98 last week. My sense is that's where it's going to stay (for now). But I buy that with some regularity so will watch.

 

[QueenIsabella]

What Walmart is doing is not what I would consider dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing is when the price changes for peak/trough times. Any store can and does change prices, based on their costs, much like a gas station. I do notice that, if you shop Walmart online, it says "prices are for online" or something--you might find different prices, higher or lower, if you went into the store. This makes sense to me--regional things (Saturn peaches are a good example), you just aren't going to find every Walmart, at any price. I remember when we moved to North Carolina--up in NY/NH, Saturn peaches were a rare treat. Down here, I can get them in Walmart! Yay!

Walmart does do "rollbacks", but not typical weekly sales like you see at grocery stores or Target. You could claim that sales are a form of dynamic pricing, but grocery stores usually plan them months out, and have deals with their suppliers to have certain specials. Publix does an amazing special on standing rib roast for Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas. The butcher told me they plan/price it several month sin advance. Someone probably got hosed when the big inflation spike hit, and Publix had all these lovely roasts for (comparatively) cheap.

 

[Dakota731]

that also could be that an item has multiple sellers and the cheaper seller no longer has stock.

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?!?

 

[dioxide45]

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?