The UK’s biggest supermarkets are planning to introduce technology that allows them to update prices of goods on the shelves automatically throughout the day.

The grocers are considering scrapping paper price tags in a move that could signal the end of yellow discount stickers on expiring food at the end of the day and first thing in the morning.

They are playing catch up with German discounters Aldi and Lidl which have already rolled out the technology across their UK stores. 

French tech company Vusion, based in the Paris suburbs, hopes to introduce digital price tags in 1,000 stores in the UK and Ireland by the end of this year.

It has already forged a partnership with Walmart – the biggest supermarket retailer in the US – and is in the process of introducing digital price tags at 2,300 of its stores. 

Vusion is in talks with all the major grocers. Marks & Spencer is already running a trial of the technology in six of its stores, with plans for a wider roll out.

Retailers say that digitising price tags allow staff to be more efficient and focus on other jobs rather than updating shelf prices.

And it is more environmentally friendly as it reduces paper waste and allows stores to keep a closer eye on stock levels.

But concerns have been raised over potential ‘surge pricing’, which would see prices hiked when products are more in demand. 

Another drawback from a shopper’s perspective is that it would be harder for them to spot cut-price items without the highly visible yellow label. 

They would not be able to tell which items had seen their prices cut during the day because the digital tag would just change automatically.

‘We are in talks with most of the brands,’ Vusion chief executive Thierry Gadou said.

‘By the end of 2026 most of the brands will be doing digital pricing. The others will get left behind. We are at the tipping point in the UK.’