‘Peak-time’ electronic labels set to replace price tags in supermarkets

“Peak-time” pricing, where the cost of items rises and falls according to demand, is set to be rolled out widely in supermarkets, petrol stations and on energy bills.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are reportedly replacing paper price tags on shelves in some stores with electronic labels.

This will allow price changes at the click of a button. If the initial phase is successful the companies could remove paper price labels from all stores and move to a 100 per cent electronic pricing system.

Unlike paper price tags, “e-prices” are linked to shops’ computer systems which can move them up or down by up to 90 per cent in a day.

The technology allows store managers to react to events. For example, they could remove offers on sought-after items such as ice creams and chilled drinks during heatwaves. Peak-time pricing is also expected to be used for petrol pumps in the near future after the system proved popular in Scandinavia and the US. A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We always look at ways that technology can help us improve the shopping experience for our customers.”