commentary

The strange new math behind the price of your groceries

As stores embrace algorithms, the cost of groceries is becoming a question of whom — and what — we trust

Published November 2, 2026 6:30AM (EST)

A shelf in the food section of the Albany Walmart supercenter on Washington Avenue Extension shows how digital shelf labels give the prices of items in digital format (Larry Rulison/Albany Times Union / Getty Images)

Walmart recently published a list of things it promises not to do to its customers.

“We price the product, not the person,” Walmart CEO John Furner announced in a September letter to customers . “Your income, shopping history, urgency or what we think you could pay won’t change the price,” he promised. Nor, he said, would the retailer’s AI shopping assistant, Sparky, use information customers shared to raise prices or conceal cheaper options.

This was nice to hear.…