The contrast came as Amazon launched its Prime Big Deal Days event on Oct. 6-7, offering millions of discounts across electronics, toys, clothing and household essentials. Walmart countered with its own Deal Days promotion, running Oct. 5-11.
But the more unusual development came when Walmart publicly challenged an economist who has been criticizing its pricing technology.
On Monday (Oct. 5), Walmart published an open letter addressed to Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of the progressive economic policy think tank Groundwork Collaborative. Signed by Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, the letter accused Owens of repeatedly misrepresenting the retailer’s pricing practices and asked her to correct her public statements.
The dispute exposes an emerging challenge for the retail industry. As AI makes it easier to predict what individual consumers want, it also raises questions about whether retailers will use that knowledge to determine what those consumers are willing to pay.
See also: Amazon and Walmart Want Merchants’ Software Budgets
Retailers Are Learning in Real-Time What They Can Do With Customer Data
In a research report published Monday, Owens and Co-Author Elizabeth Pancotti examined Walmart patents describing technology capable of tracking shopping behavior, estimating customers’ willingness to pay and adjusting prices according to individual circumstances. They argued that such capabilities could undermine the transparency consumers traditionally expect at checkout.
Walmart rejected that interpretation. The company said its electronic shelf labels, which are replacing traditional paper price tags, make approved price changes faster and more accurate. Walmart denied that the labels would be used to increase prices for ice cream during hot weather or soup during snowstorms.
“We price products, not people,” Bartlett wrote, and the retailer also disputed the significance of its patents. Bartlett argued that obtaining a patent for a pricing technology doesn’t establish that Walmart has deployed it or intends to use it. The letter specifically rejected the suggestion that placing tuna in a shopping cart could trigger a higher price for mayonnaise.
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Walmart similarly defended Sparky, its AI-powered shopping assistant, which helps customers discover and compare products. Owens has pointed to higher average spending among Sparky users as a potential concern. Walmart maintained that larger shopping baskets don’t prove customers are paying higher prices for individual items.
The exchange complicates Walmart’s broader holiday message. On Wednesday (Oct. 7), the retailer announced new shopping services, including one-hour Express Pickup at 500 stores and technology that uses flashing shelf lights to help shoppers find products.
PYMNTS Intelligence’s “The Fragmented Paycheck: Why Rising Spending No Longer Means Stronger Demand,” part of The American Paycheck 2026 Annual Edition, found that, across the consumers surveyed, 66% cut everyday spending and 51% avoid large purchases, while 21% negotiate bills as a way to manage household financial pressures.
Read more: Amazon Builds Its Own Answer to Walmart’s 5,000 Stores
Historically, retailers optimized prices primarily around products, competitors, inventory and demand. AI increasingly allows companies to optimize the shopping experience around individual customers.
A retailer can increase average order value by helping consumers discover useful products without changing individual prices. Conversely, sophisticated personalization could potentially influence purchasing decisions without displaying different prices to different shoppers.
Yet the more effectively retailers use consumer data to anticipate purchasing behavior, the more important it becomes to explain how that information affects commercial outcomes. That requires separating product recommendations, promotional targeting, inventory-based price changes and individualized pricing rather than treating them as interchangeable applications of AI.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Will the 2026 Shopping Season Go Agentic?“ found that roughly 132 million people have made a retail purchase with AI assistance, while 22% now begin online retail research in an AI tool.
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