A report released on Tuesday warns that the universal adoption of electronic shelf labels in US grocery stores could lead to tens of thousands of job losses and billions of dollars in lost wages. The analysis by the AFL-CIO Tech Institute also suggests these labels could further drive up grocery costs for consumers.
The report, titled 'Priced Out, Pushed Out: Electronic Shelf Labels Raise Prices and Shrink Paychecks', found that between 44,223 and 191,633 jobs could be affected, with annual lost wages for workers potentially ranging from $1.6bn to $6.9bn. Manufacturers market these labels to retailers as a way to cut costs, increase profits, and collect customer data.
The report argues that electronic shelf labels facilitate dynamic pricing, allowing for rapid algorithmic price changes. Sunny Glottmann, a co-author of the report, stated that these labels create the infrastructure for easier implementation of algorithmic price changes at scale, raising concerns for consumers already facing high grocery costs.
Several US states have begun introducing legislation to ban surveillance pricing and electronic shelf labels. Maryland banned surveillance pricing in April, followed by Connecticut in June and New Jersey in July, both banning electronic labels.