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Walmart is expanding its use of digital shelf labels with new tools designed to help customers and store associates find products faster. The rollout is the latest piece of the retailer’s broader effort to modernize operations and incorporate artificial intelligence across its business.

The customer feature, called Shop to Light, connects Walmart’s app with labels inside stores. Shoppers can search for a specific product, navigate to the correct aisle and activate a flashing light on the corresponding shelf label.

Walmart is introducing the feature widely after testing it through a pilot program. Shop to Light has recorded 5 million customer flashes since the retailer began rolling it out to a limited number of locations this summer.

Store associates will receive two related tools using the same label technology. Pick to Light is intended to help employees locate products for digital orders, while Stock to Light helps them identify where merchandise belongs during stocking.

All three features are scheduled to reach stores companywide by the holiday season, according to Greg Cathey, Walmart’s senior vice president of digital transformation. He said customers and associates had requested this type of assistance.

“This is a use case that customers have asked us for, associates have asked us for,” Cathey said. “It gives them time back, and I think if you look at a lot of what we’re trying to do, it’s all around convenience and being able to help associates and customers free up that time to invest it where they want.”

The technology addresses a significant navigation challenge because Walmart stores carry roughly 120,000 items. Cathey said the company wants to preserve that broad product selection while making precise items easier for customers to locate.

Walmart has not publicly disclosed the financial details of the program. Cathey said the features have helped customers and associates save time while shopping, picking online orders and stocking merchandise at pilot stores.

The rollout arrives as delivery and pickup speed become increasingly important to Walmart’s sales strategy. The company’s business has grown steadily and its online sales continue to climb, though concerns about comparable sales and its revenue outlook weighed on the stock following its August earnings report.

Digital labels were initially introduced to replace paper labels and allow automatic price updates throughout Walmart’s system. More than 4,300 stores currently have the labels, and Walmart expects installation across the chain by the end of the year.

Cathey said approximately 90% of store sections currently have digital shelf labels. Price changes occur overnight when customers are absent, and Walmart maintains human oversight intended to provide what Cathey called “robust governance” and prevent mistakes.

“We don’t look at it as technology for technology’s sake,” Cathey said. “So we always have a human in the loop, and we’re very focused on human judgment and their ability to make decisions.”

Walmart’s wider technology strategy includes an AI agent for customers, supply chain automation and investments in radio frequency identification tags. The retailer has also spent billions modernizing its physical stores and has prepared for agentic commerce as it embraces AI.

CEO John Furner said during Walmart’s most recent earnings call that the company is seeing significant returns from its technology strategy, including AI investments. “We believe AI will improve nearly every part of our business by making shopping better, and our associates’ work easier,” he said.

The digital labels have nevertheless generated concerns about dynamic pricing, possible price surges and the collection of customer shopping data. Furner responded in an open letter that Walmart would continue to “price the product, not the person,” and would not use customer information to determine prices.

“Your income, shopping history, urgency or what we think you could pay won’t change the price,” Furner wrote. Several state legislatures, including New Jersey, have passed measures restricting digital shelf labels because of pricing concerns, although Walmart said the technology is present in all its New Jersey stores.

Walmart called the New Jersey policy an “overreaction, as digital shelf labels are not a tool for surveillance pricing and are simply a modern way to display prices.” The company has also faced privacy scrutiny over drone delivery, which is available in selected states including Texas and Florida and can deliver products in as fast as 30 minutes.

Cathey said the label features support Walmart’s larger goal of giving associates more time to address individual customer needs. He also rejected a strict divide between stores and online fulfillment, saying, “It’s not one or the other anymore. It’s both.”

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.