Walmart (WMT) has obtained new US patents for machine learning-based pricing tools, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the retailer secured a patent in January for a system that automatically updates prices for markdowns in its e-commerce unit, and another last week that uses machine learning to forecast demand and suggest pricing.

Walmart said the technologies are not intended for dynamic pricing, stressing that they support merchant decision-making and markdown management rather than automatically changing prices in real time, the Financial Times added.

Walmart did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the company were down 2.2% in Wednesday trading.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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