Walmart lights up a new feature for shoppers on its digital price tags

Indicator lights are built into the new digital price tags that have been appearing in Walmart's US stores for the past year. Dominick Reuter/Business Insider If you've ever spent more than five minutes scrutinizing the spice options at the grocery store, Walmart has some exciting news for you.The retail giant said Thursday that shoppers can now use their mobile app while browsing in-store to activate a flashing light that helps locate items on shelves.The feature has been available for employees and Spark delivery drivers over the past several months, and is built into the new digital price tags appearing in Walmart's US stores for the past year.With the Walmart app — and its AI shopping assistant, Sparky — customers can search for the exact item they want and tap a button on the product listing page to activate a little green light in the aisle where they're standing. Employees have had access to the flashing light feature for several months. Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Business Insider saw the tech in action during a store tour in April, and a Spark driver said it has helped her fulfill delivery orders faster.The lights are also used by store employees to more quickly and accurately re-stock shelves, the company said.This aspect of the digital price tag technology has garnered less attention so far than the question of whether the miniature displays would be used to change prices more dynamically.Last week, CEO John Furner pledged that the company will never set prices based on the time of day or who's shopping, and that there will be no "personalized price" at Walmart.Walmart says all maximum display prices are set centrally at its headquarters, while store managers have discretion to offer certain discounts to remain competitive in their markets. Read next Dominick Reuter is a senior retail reporter for Business Insider, primarily covering Walmart, Target, and Costco. His stories tend to focus on issues and trends that affect employees and customers.Prior to joining BI in 2019, Dominick worked for more than a decade as an independent photojournalist covering a wide range of stories for global wire services and newspapers, including Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and Agence France-Presse.Dominick studied photojournalism at Boston University and later earned a Masters in business and economics journalism from Columbia University.If you're an employee or customer with a story to share, please contact me via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750. Walmart Shopping