Polly Arrowsmith is a shrewd individual when it comes to finding discounts, and she knows precisely the time at which each of the three stores close to her reduce their prices daily.
She believes that searching for the yellow discount labels helps her save hundreds of pounds annually.
Ms Arrowsmith, who is based in London, admits that when she obtains a yellow label food item, she experiences a small rush of dopamine, which she recognises provides a moment of pleasure.
Soon, the habit of snatching up those yellow-stickered discounted items could be a thing of the past. That's because grocery stores are transitioning to dynamic pricing, powered by AI-driven software.
Digital price tags can be seen either on the shelf underneath food items or on tech-savvy decals attached to the item.
The AI will automatically and wirelessly adjust the prices of items nearing their sell by dates.
The AI concurrently assesses the store's inventory of the item and the demand for it in preceding years.
There is no requirement for personnel to roam the fresh food sections utilizing a sticker gun towards the end of the day.
Dynamic pricing driven by artificial intelligence is already available in many European countries; supermarkets like DIA (Spain), Iper (Italy), Metro (Germany), and Hoogvliet (Netherlands) have all implemented it.
Everyone is utilizing a service distributed by Wasteless, an Israeli company. David Kat, the senior vice president of business development from Wasteless, says, "We have a model that can measure the risk that an item will not be purchased and needs to be discounted instead."
We use our data to provide retailers with more insight on how to properly manage their stock so they don't order too much. This type of knowledge turns food waste into an opportunity instead of a nuisance.
Wasteless declares that it is presently engaged in talks with three well-known British retailers with a view to deploying its system in the UK during the first half of 2021. The company alleges that it is able to reduce supermarkets' food waste by more than a third.
Meanwhile, Asda has tested out digital price tags from SES-Imagotag. The French tech company has reported that it is now furnishing its technology to about 350 retailers around the world in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.
Furthermore, Displaydata's system is being employed by the German supermarket chain Kaufland, whereas Pricer - a Swedish company - has launched in its home market with ICA.
A study suggests that dynamic pricing could add an extra 10% to revenue from fresh foods for a retailer, since it will enable them to sell goods that they would have had to discard.
According to one report, UK supermarkets and other food retailers generate approximately 300,000 tonnes of food waste a year.
Matt Wills, the co-founder of Acumen (a consultancy which provides guidance to retailers on pricing their offerings), cautions of the potential drawbacks of dynamic pricing.
He asserts that without knowing precisely what the reference price is, consumers might not think they're getting a bargain. This could also create a situation in which prices are unpredictable, making it difficult for people who are managing their money carefully to plan out their expenses if they observe that the prices of items are continually varying.
Mr Wills expresses his concerns that some prices may increase. "If certain products are more popular in a particular store, there could be a possibility of price discrimination, resulting in higher prices due to the heightened demand," he adds.
Rather than being beneficial to consumers, the use of AI-driven pricing could have negative consequences, such as pensioners paying more for certain items because they reside in an area with a substantial retiree population and a comparable consumer profile.
As per Mr Wills' opinion, if retailers establish strict regulations and control, they will be able to profit from the advantages of dynamic pricing while at the same time avoiding any undesirable outcomes for customers that may be caused by AI and algorithms.
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However, Sabrina Benjamin, a proprietor of Authentic Branches - a business technology consulting firm in London - is confident that the perks from digital pricing in supermarkets that is operated by AI will outweigh any disadvantages.
"The digital price tagging is certainly more sophisticated than the traditional yellow-sticker system," she declared. Its flexibility and ease of changing prices benefits the consumer by supplying higher discounts and incentives, and thereby bolsters store visitation.
It is yet to be seen if shoppers will be open to the alteration - and the vanishing of yellow sticker discounts - but Ms Benjamin feels confident that the price cuts they acquire will win them over.
Ms Arrowsmith concedes that she will be pining for the yellow stickers that have come to define her shopping pattern. Even so, she adds that she would prefer to witness less edibles being discarded. "I'm content to not have those extremely affordable prices," she states.
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