Electronic shelf labels likely to cost jobs and drive up grocery prices, US report warns

An employee arranges a digital price tag for vegetables at Whole Foods in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The universal adoption of electronic shelf labels in grocery stores across the US could cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost wages while further driving up grocery costs, according to a report released on Tuesday.

An analysis by the AFL-CIO Tech Institute of the label manufacturers’ own marketing materials found the universal adoption of electronic shelf labels, which are marketed to retailers as a cost-cutting measure, could cost workers between $1.6bn and $6.9bn in lost wages annually and affect between 44,223 and 191,633 jobs.