Walmart wins AI pricing and markdown patents as state legislators push to ban algorithmic pricing

Walmart has secured two U.S. patents in 2026 for machine learning-powered pricing tools, including an automated markdown system for its e-commerce platform and a demand forecasting tool that recommends prices to merchant teams, as the retailer races to extend its technology lead in retail. The patents arrive amid growing political scrutiny of algorithmic pricing, with legislators in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota introducing bills to ban dynamic pricing for groceries and consumer goods, though Walmart insists both patents are unrelated to dynamic pricing and that price updates remain “people-led.” The approvals come as Walmart installs electronic shelf labels across all 4,600 of its U.S. stores within the next year, a rollout that has drawn its own legislative pushback from Democratic senators seeking to ban the labels in large grocery stores.