63 percent say electronic shelf labels will cause grocery prices to increase
62 percent in favor of banning this technology in grocery stores, with strong support across party lines
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 881 released a poll from GBAO Strategies that shows overwhelming bipartisan support among Illinoisans for banning electronic shelf labels (ESLs) and surveillance pricing in grocery stores. This technology enables corporations to exploit shoppers’ personal data to set individualized prices that can change in the blink of an eye. This comes as Illinois lawmakers consider legislation by Senator Robert Peters (D-13) to ban these practices and technologies.
UFCW Local 881 President Steve Powell, who represents 34,000 members in grocery, retail, and other essential industries throughout Illinois and Northwest Indiana, said:
“Every day costs are going up and the last thing we need in Illinois is price gouging at the grocery store. Electronic shelf labels enable greedy corporations to use shoppers’ personal data against them, to squeeze them for every cent possible.
“Our members know the dangers of this discriminatory technology, and we believe it has no place in our stores. The poll clearly shows the people of Illinois agree that digital tags are only going to make grocery bills worse. Local 881 is proud to stand with Senator Peters to protect consumers and grocery workers, we urge the legislature to act quickly and pass this important bill.”
Illinois is among 12 states to have joined the UFCW’s “Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign,” to ban the predatory practice of surveillance pricing, target the encroachment of AI-driven technology in grocery stores, and deliver fair prices for families while preserving good, union grocery jobs.
Email press@ufcw.org to speak with a spokesperson about the threat that ESLs and surveillance pricing pose to fair grocery prices and good, union jobs. The polling memo is available here.
BACKGROUND
- The poll finds that 63 percent of Illinois voters think ESLs and 67 percent think surveillance pricing will cause grocery prices to increase.
- Support for proposed legislation in the state cuts across party lines, with 62 percent in favor of banning this technology in grocery stores with bipartisan majorities.
- Retailers cannot be trusted to do the right thing, with 68 percent of respondents saying they don’t trust grocery stores to use the technology responsibly.
- 70 percent of Illinoisans have a negative view of the U.S. economy, with 71 percent worried about the cost of groceries for their household and 69 percent expecting the amount they spend on groceries to increase in the next year.
- ESLs enable retailers to change prices instantaneously, and corporations are racing to deploy them. Walmart, for example, plans to replace traditional paper price tags with digital ones across all of its stores by the end of 2026. The corporation also recently secured patents to use shoppers’ personal data to update prices at scale.
- ESLs also threaten the livelihoods of grocery workers. These systems could replace the skilled work of grocery clerks or, at the very least, leave them to explain a company’s actions to rightfully angry shoppers. The UFCW represents more than 800,000 grocery workers across North America. UFCW members are essential to keeping our communities fed, and they know how disruptive ESLs could be for workers and shoppers alike.
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UFCW Local 881 is part of UFCW International, the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, retail, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW Local 881 here.