Walmart (NYSE: WMT) CEO John Furner has issued a direct public commitment to customers, pledging that the retail giant will not use personal data to charge individual shoppers higher prices for the same products.
In a letter dated September 25, Furner reaffirmed the company’s longstanding Every Day Low Prices strategy, drawing a sharp line between its use of technology and the controversial practice of surveillance pricing.
“I want to tell you where we stand: We price the product, not the person,” Furner wrote in the letter addressed to Walmart customers across the country.
The pledge comes as artificial intelligence and digital shelf technology have prompted growing concern among consumers and regulators about whether retailers could exploit personal data to manipulate what individual shoppers pay.
Walmart stated it will not use a customer’s income, shopping history, urgency, or perceived willingness to pay when determining the price they see in stores or online.
The company also committed that information shared with its AI-powered shopping assistant, Sparky, will not be used to raise prices or hide lower-priced alternatives from users.
Furner also addressed Walmart’s use of digital shelf labels, which are now installed in approximately 2,300 stores and are designed to keep shelf prices aligned with what customers pay at checkout, while reducing the manual labor of replacing paper tags.
The letter arrives at a moment when surveillance pricing has attracted scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission, prompted state legislation in Illinois and Minnesota, and drawn consumer attention following grocery delivery pricing tests.
Furner pointed to strong customer demand for value, saying, “Customers tell us they’re still feeling some pressure, but it’s clear. Customers are looking for value and convenience and they want things fast, and that’s where Walmart shines.”
Walmart U.S. offered more than 11,000 rollbacks during the most recent quarter, a significant increase from the 7,200 rollbacks reported at the end of the first quarter of the same period.
The company said it received approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds, directing much of that benefit back toward lowering prices and improving the overall customer experience.
Fee revenue rose 17%, supported by continued membership growth across both Walmart+ and Sam’s Club, underscoring how pricing trust is directly tied to subscription loyalty.
Maintaining credibility on pricing is therefore far more than a public relations exercise, as consumer confidence in fair pricing gives shoppers a concrete reason to return and maintain their memberships.
Walmart’s broader challenge remains delivering on that promise while continuing to deploy technology that drives operational efficiency and keeps the company competitive against other major retailers.
