Tech tracking makes ‘surge pricing’ an option for the big grocery chains

Retail experts predict a trial of electronic labelling on grocery items could foreshadow a move to “surge pricing”, which would allow supermarkets to determine the price of an item to reflect demand in real-time.

The pricing strategy could see customers pay more or less for an item at the click of a button from retailers, as demand rises and falls.

For example, the cost of umbrellas could be inflated during wet weather, while sunscreen and ice creams could become more expensive during a heatwave.

Svetlana Bogomolova, associate professor at the University of South Australia Business School, said electronic price systems could end up on Australian shelves and lead to “more dynamic pricing strategies”.

But she said the pricing strategy would not necessarily result in higher prices for consumers.

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