As state lawmakers consider banning digital shelf labels, or DSLs, in New York’s grocery stores, they risk solving a problem that does not exist while making grocery shopping less accurate and more expensive in the process.  

First, it is important to be clear about what digital shelf labels are. They simply display prices. They don't collect data, track shoppers, or change prices based on who you are.  

Let’s start with the basics. Grocery store pricing is inherently public. Every price displayed on a shelf is visible to every shopper in the store. If a price changes, it changes for everyone. There is no mechanism, technological or practical, for a DSL to show one price to one shopper and a different price to another. That’s not how DSLs are designed, and it is not how retail pricing works. 

How do digital shelf labels work?

Digital pricing displays are not new: New Yorkers already see them every day at gas stations, fast-food drive-throughs or at Starbucks when getting a morning coffee. They are not tracking customers or........

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