The new labels allow employees to change prices as often as every ten seconds.

“If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream. If there’s something that’s close to the expiration date, we can lower the price — that’s the good news,” said Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst.

Apps like Uber already use surge pricing, in which higher demand leads to higher prices in real time. Companies across industries have caused controversy with talk of implementing surge pricing, with fast-food restaurant Wendy’s making headlines most recently. Electronic shelf labels allow the same strategy to be applied at grocery stores, but are not the only reason why retailers may make the switch.

  • TargaryenTKE
    3•3 months ago

    I was never a grocer, but I worked in the catering industry for almost 10 years (which, to be fair, is a very different industry that just happens to have some overlap). Standard procedure is to throw away practically everything that can’t be reused on another event. I talked to the higher-ups about this multiple times and they always gave me the same two answers: ‘We can’t be liable for someone getting sick from eating our old food’ and ‘We donate to Second Helpings once a year, so at least we try’

    • sunzu
      2•3 months ago

      So you were told to get fucked?

      Checks out lol

      They would not let you take it home?

      • TargaryenTKE
        3•3 months ago

        Officially, no. But when you’re the last truck to get back at 3am, nobody’s gonna stop me. Every once in a while they would look the other way, but it honestly depended on their mood more than anything else

        • sunzu
          2•3 months ago

          i get the official position, IRS could deem it income with everything that comes with that

          so arbitrary enforcement of policy, corpo world 101

          • TargaryenTKE
            2•3 months ago

            I mean, I get it too, but I was also throwing away enough food to feed at least a dozen people (usually much more) every single day. To make it worse, I drove by at LEAST 2-4 unhoused persons on the way back to the shop (not even counting my drive back home)

            • JasonDJ
              2•3 months ago

              My wedding had a food minimum.

              We come from big Italian families, in multiple meanings of the word. There was still so much food. Hors d’oeuvres, cheese board, crudites, bread tray, 3 courses, dessert…and then 11 o clock hits and the last food comes out. Pizza. So much fucking pizza.

              I’d never seen so much food waste in one place. I really hated that there was a food minimum. The venue itself was cheap, and nice, but I’m certainly not getting married there again.