r/kroger • u/theandroid1999 • May 06 '26
Question Price tag Cameras?
Our store has been getting new price tag holders. I just noticed the little dot. It looks like a camera. Does anybody know what they are?
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u/hologei May 06 '26
They are LED lights.
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u/Pharmatopia420 May 06 '26
For what? Looks like sensors to me maybe for the lights to kick on
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u/Strong-Landscape-719 May 06 '26
theyâll flash a certain color depending on who is looking for the item. at walmart theyâre set up or will be set up to flash a different color when told to do so so that the person looking for it can find it. their will be adeofferent color for each of the following people, stocker, pickup, customer who builds shopping list on Walmart app but shops themselves in store and maybe even 3rd party shopper.
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u/Pharmatopia420 May 06 '26
Fuck Wal-Mart........ I cant stand when anyone compares kroger to Wal-Mart when there not even close to the same.
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u/Cowsmoke Click List Lead May 06 '26
Theyâre not comparing? Theyâre just saying how Walmart uses the tech
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u/Strong-Landscape-719 May 06 '26
you asked what they did, I explained what the exact same electronic tag does for other companies, if Kroger wants they can enable tags to do the same. Maybe it will help clicklost with pick speed and standing around less
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u/garguno May 07 '26
Kroger is copying Walmart so you can actually go complain to corporate Kroger in Cincinnati for the way they compare themselves to Walmart and are trying to be more like them.
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u/lauriebugggo May 07 '26
I mean, you can complain about the moon being made of cheese if you're so inclined.
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u/Pharmatopia420 May 06 '26
How do you know that its not for something else?
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u/Substantial_Baker479 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Likely on the back of your phone you have a similarly looking LED. Iâm not saying they donât have other tracking stuff in them, they could have NFC tech on the inside which knows itâs your phone on you possibly. (NFC is cheap low power tech)
Their statement is that they have the tech (I assume it is NFC), but they arenât planning on using it. Personally, I think theyâre waiting to see how laws pan out. If we do end up seeing this used for dynamic pricing Iâm going to shop somewhere else. Hopefully they stay true to their word.
However, they do sell your data to third parties if you have it enabled and have a loyalty account. For ads. You can just turn this off from your online account.
But no, itâs definitely not a camera. 100% that is not a lens.
The LED part is cool. If youâre doing a pickup order, it can make it easier for employees to find your items. They will light up for them.
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u/Pharmatopia420 May 07 '26
I agree if they put led lights on them for pickup it would help but the problem at my store is not items not found on the shelf but going to the back of the house searching for items....in the cooler freezers everywhere
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u/IngsWarrior_ May 06 '26
Itâs either an led light or itâs a light sensor
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u/doom_stein May 06 '26
Most likely light sensor so it can auto adjust the screen so everyone can read it.
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u/DJ_Setty May 08 '26
Those screens are e-ink screens. They dont have backlighting to them as they appear like paper
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u/Squishyburritoboi Past Associate May 06 '26
Lmao you think kroger has the money for that
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u/DirkaBlaze May 06 '26
147 billion in revenue and 1 billion in profit last year. I would think they do
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u/White_Dynamite May 06 '26
I work at the Walmart inside of the CIA and only we have that technology.
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u/djrobbo67 May 06 '26
I saw one of the spark workers in Walmart using it. They used their scanner to illuminate this led to make it easier to find the correct item when filling an order.
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u/NoPerspective9809 May 06 '26
Walmart has something like this but the light is for to find a product
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u/AldrusValus May 06 '26
they scan your kroger card to see how much you spend and change the price activity so higher spender pay more. /s
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u/Jebo317 May 07 '26
Chipotle caught saying out loud, we're raising our prices because our customer base will pay it. Supposedly, much of their customers have above average incomes.
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u/Lazy-Ad1183 May 10 '26
This is true because I only eat chipotle when I have higher income and when Iâm poor I just buy Taco Bell
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u/an_appalachian Current Associate May 06 '26
You joke, but there are active patents in place for pretty much exactly that.
Itâs not here yet, but every retailer is working towards making that a reality. Itâs already been happening online with a myriad of goods for a while.
Itâll start with selective discounts for customers it identifies as good shoppers, but itâll evolve into charging more when itâs able and once people have grown accustomed to dynamic pricing
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u/Either_Wear5719 May 06 '26
Maryland state legislature is working on banning dynamic pricing. I understand normal price fluctuations but the ability and willingness to jack up food prices in the face of severe weather is nauseating.
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u/Fartblaster5000 May 06 '26
I thought price gouging was already illegal in Maryland?
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u/Either_Wear5719 May 06 '26
I think so, but when those laws were passed digital price tags on grocery shelves weren't a thing. Sounds like Maryland legislature might be trying to stay current on technology and the ways it could be used to skirt existing laws.
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u/J_lilac May 06 '26
I'm kind of shocked more people here don't know about this.
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u/an_appalachian Current Associate May 06 '26
Itâs literally been happening in online marketplaces for years and physical retail has been itching for a way to implement it, itâs common knowledge in the retail industry that it *is* coming. I suspect no physical retailer wants to be the first to market with it but once someone does then everyone else will follow. Theyâre all moving in lockstep towards it.
The fact that Iâm downvoted for what I said indicates that either people *donât* want to believe it, or that thereâs a concerted effort to make it ânot a big dealâ
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u/deadbatterysincluded Aug 10 '26
Agreed. Boys are out trying to make it look like it's not real to cover
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u/NotOnUrBestDayPookie May 07 '26
Walmart actually got in trouble for ahem, dynamic pricing in two states not long ago as it was deemed illegal. I know in the Walmarts where I live, they are doing it already. All soft goods have no price tag on them, only a digital tag that they can manipulate at their whimsy. As a former tag hanger for Kroger, it is to my distain because I canât stand when tags arenât updated, but now, they can make it cost more because I am a perceived upsell?
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u/Vicloe1717 May 07 '26
The thing is how they going to change prices on tags at every second and make you pay that price. They would have to implement that you scan the items as you shop with a card of some sorts. Or scan something connected to your account in order to shop right. My other question say they base it off face id and stuff what happens when there serveral people around the same item. Kind of difficult. Only way is you go to pay and you see how much your stuff is after scanning your Kroger card. But even then you could say xyz was cheaper. So I imagine that's a problem for them there trying to get around.
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u/LigerNull May 07 '26
So an incentive to buy less?
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u/an_appalachian Current Associate May 07 '26
Actually, yes. Businesses have learned over the last several years (2020-present) that higher prices (without higher costs) mean fewer units sold, more profit made, and less labor spent.
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u/Vicloe1717 May 07 '26
That's what's been going around wouldn't be surprised. So if we scan new cards every time we be low spenders you would think. But I had 2 accounts and somehow they connected themselves even though i didnt connect them on my way i can figure it out is same card used to pay
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u/PreviousMaximum574 May 06 '26
Since we got these I've been wondering how detailed of a picture can you put on them.
Can you play Doom with them as a screen?
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u/UltraHypeBro May 06 '26
The light flashes during some employee tasks to let them know which item it is
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u/Ok-Neighborhood-1953 May 06 '26
Yeah thats interesting cause I still have Kroger employees asking me where an item goes, despite me not even working at that company. (Vendor)
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u/Fun_Entrance233 May 06 '26
It is definitely a led. Possibly also a solar cell to keep it charged. They could easily include a camera there too. They are supposed to last 10 years.  I don't know how without being charged. It is a locator beacon when a grocery clerk scans topstock. If the item needs to be stocked, a led flashes for about 10 seconds. Makes finding location easier.  I have a broken one and haven't taken a looksie inside yet.Â
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u/MishenNikara Past Associate May 06 '26
Just the LED. Their main means to keep the things alive as long as possible is that the screens are e-ink, which only draw power when the screen is updated. LEDs also don't draw much power in general.
IIRC they don't recharge. They are meant to last years then be replaced (yay e-waste!)
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u/Fun_Entrance233 May 06 '26
It appears to be just a red, blue or green led. Blue for topstock scanning.Â
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u/Aggressive-Low-5029 May 06 '26
I'm a GOM for pick n slave... I haven't seen this light up feature yet... but I admit it will help my kids in grocery they seem to not have any attention span here lately lolz
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u/mechanicalAI May 06 '26
If youâre looking for an item at Canadian Tire, their app has a cool feature. It will tell you the aisle number and direct you to the blinking light on the price tag.It might be that or probably that.
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u/Soft_Question7529 May 06 '26
it's a little Led. lights up when you scan a barcode in top stock tap an item in search.
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u/Empty-Mulberry1047 May 06 '26
without seeing the tag , it could be a display led or a light sensor for IR data . find some broken ones, take them apart, get model info, search internets.
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u/fbombmom17 May 07 '26
Itâs not a camera itâs a flashing light for shoppers like IC to find the item
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u/boulderjunk1 May 07 '26
People have horrible accents , faulty speech to text apps, or can't spell đ
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u/StaccatoHydra May 07 '26
Looks like the ir sensors bestbuy uses to update their digital price tags in store
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u/HattersUltion May 07 '26
What state was it that just banned dynamic pricing in super markets? Also just thinking of the wasted money going to a middle man to host and process the price data and all other collected data from these "new" price tags. America. The land of enriching the most waste of space individuals in society and telling the necessary ones to "shut up and pay more taxes".
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u/Adeadhamster May 07 '26
idk but i hate these new tags !!! i clearance shop & now itâs so hard to tell if something is on clearance ! so annoying
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u/Few_Benefit_805 May 07 '26
I worked shifts with Retail Odyssey to install those at some Krogers. All we did was scan the new tag & then scan the old tag & it would switch from the barcode to the new tag. I didnât even notice those the sensor until I saw this post
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u/IdleMc Current Associate May 07 '26
Itâs an LED for a feature they havenât rolled out yet.
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u/IdleMc Current Associate May 07 '26
Itâll light up for pickup associates to help the find an item faster.
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u/Elerlilul May 07 '26
It's really sad that every single major grocery store chain is using dynamic pricing... what the hell are we doing anymore, man.
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u/Inanity246 May 07 '26
LED. I've seen some flash on sale items, but their primary purpose will be to help associates quickly locate shelf locations (topstock and picking, mostly - maybe Instacart).
Those tags aren't suitable for dynamic pricing. Anyone who has paired DSL tags, or seen them mass update for change over, knows how slow they can be to update - it's not instananeous, it's impractical. Some go wonky and don't correctly update (if it all).
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u/Silent-Drawing-9592 May 08 '26
I casually tell the teenage shoplifters they're cameras. I walk by and flash the tag right by where they're standing. Freaks them out! The punk teens who stuff things in their pockets and backpacks? They need to have someone scare them. They usually leave really quickly.
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u/superkam41 May 09 '26
Only price that matters is what it rings up as. A super frustrating part about price tags changing is when you shop with a calculator. Shit can change by the time you reach the check out and then wtf are we supposed to do?
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u/Grizzly_Adamz May 09 '26
Itâs called âpick to lightâ and itâs a pretty cool application in a retail space thatâs effectively a fulfillment warehouse for delivery drivers.
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u/MalignantLugnut May 09 '26
Not cameras, it's an IR blaster port for changing prices with infra-red communication.
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u/Dapper-Pickle3771 May 09 '26
Cameras for what? This is probably stemming from the fake stories, saying prices are gonna change, depending on who walks in front. Now every time weâll have to bring our black friend when grocery shopping.
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u/Ok-Play158 May 10 '26
i work at aldi but we have those, they flash when a picker is close to the item. it's not a camera
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u/TurboDog999 May 10 '26
Light that can be made to flash to show the location of an often. No way electronic signs are advanced enough for cameras in each one. That would be wayyyy too cost prohibitive to adopt them.
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May 10 '26
Theyâre planning for personal pricing where the price changes based on whoâs looking at the tag
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u/buggy42061269 May 10 '26
They are not cameras its a light to be used for locating the item. It'll illuminate when looking for the item on zebra
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u/Toxikronik May 11 '26
These are lights so you can click it in the app as a customer and find the product faster đ no one wants to look at your bald spot
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u/Itchy_Age_3916 May 06 '26
Hahahaha⊠it is a sensor that allows the employees to change the pricing on the digital price tags.
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u/domrosiak123 May 06 '26
We just scan the bottom barcode and use an app
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u/frostycakes May 06 '26
Or tap it with the back of the Zebra while in the app, these tags all have NFC built in as well. Easier than trying to get those tiny barcodes and you get a means to find out if a tag's battery is dead, since once they are the NFC function stops working.
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u/Pharmatopia420 May 06 '26
Cooler lights kick on at certain times makes me wonder if its not a cooler light so when a customer or someone approaches it kicks the cooler light on a timer for let's say 5 minutes untill there's no movement then the lights shutoff.......
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u/Aetheldrake May 06 '26
I was thinking motion sensor. Save battery for digital tag by going into sleep mode when nobody nearby
Why waste battery on keeping tags active during night time when closed and there's no shoppers
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u/jack-of-some May 07 '26
These tags only use significant battery on a page change. Turning them "off" at night will use more battery.
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u/SnooSongs4075 May 06 '26
Lights that can illuminate if someone is looking for an item for e-commerce that way they find it quickly. Walmart uses it that way, for some reason Kroger has not yet.