Walmart issued a rare public letter promising not to use personal data to set prices, as the US retail industry faces rising suspicions over new technologies amid persistent inflation. John Furner, chief executive, wrote that the largest US retailer will not use its in-house AI shopping assistant or electronic shelf labels across its 4,600 stores to change prices based on a shopper’s identity. “We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t,” he said.

The idea of prices fluctuating due to personal characteristics would have been unimaginable until recently. Walmart has long embraced “everyday low prices” rather than temporary sales. But ecommerce, supercharged by AI, has given retailers the ability to track customer behaviour, raising concerns about personalised pricing. Walmart earlier received two patents for machine learning tools that could influence prices, the FT reported.

Furner’s letter was posted the day public comments were due on a new enforcement policy proposed by the US Federal Trade Commission, which warned that failing to inform consumers about data use in pricing may break the law. Concerns have attracted bipartisan attention; Republican senator Josh Hawley held a hearing on AI and corporate pricing, and Democrat Frank Pallone sent letters to 25 companies including Walmart.

Retailers say electronic shelf labels replace manual labour, but critics, including grocery workers’ unions, oppose them. Walmart reiterated that labels contain no cameras or facial recognition. “All customers see the same price,” the company said.