Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger among retailers shifting prices most often

Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger are among the top retailers adjusting prices most often, according to new analysis by web data-gathering platform Decodo.

Amazon executed 116,509 price changes throughout 2025, with a nearly even split between price increases and decreases, followed by Walmart with 68,926 total changes, 53% of those discounts. Kroger, with 55,601 changes throughout the year, also had a nearly even split between price bumps and markdowns.

The analysis covered pricing activity across more than 120 e-commerce sites in 40 countries, spanning 12 products per website across various price points from January to December 2025. While Decodo analyzed the level of discounts offered across retailers, it didn’t disclose the same for price increases.

Target’s price changes most heavily favored discounts, at 53.5%, while electronics retailer Newegg leaned most into price increases, at 59.4%.

Fashion was the top category for price changes, with 427,340, skewing slightly toward discounts. Electronics notched 351,280 price switches, also leaning slightly toward price drops, while groceries, with 318,950 changes, had an even split between price bumps and markdowns.

With 542,946 price changes in 2025—nearly seven times the number of changes by the second-ranking nation, Germany)—the United States is the frontrunner in changing prices.

Dynamic pricing—the practice of adjusting prices in real time due to factors including high inventory, increased demand, or to remain competitive with other retailers—has recently been a hot topic among lawmakers, particularly amid the rise of electronic shelf labels. The topic drew particular scrutiny following a report in December that found Instacart was using an AI pricing tool to offer individualized prices to consumers, though the platform claimed it wasn’t using “personal, demographic, or user-level behavioral data.”

While Decodo said its data indicates dynamic pricing is used evenly for increases and discounts, and a ban could potentially lead to higher prices, lawmakers are focused on eliminating the opportunity for price gouging.

In January, Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill to block dynamic pricing at grocery stores, requiring prices to stay the same for at least one business day. A similar bill was rolled out in Tennessee last month which would require retailers to disclose their use of personal data to set prices. And this week, a Pennsylvania lawmaker proposed legislation to ban dynamic pricing on essential goods like groceries.

“When consumers have no meaningful ability to anticipate or avoid sudden price changes, especially on essential goods like groceries, the practice becomes predatory and a form of price gouging,” Pennsylvania State Senator Nick Pisciottano wrote in a memo.