FTC Asks Retailers Whether Prices Know Your Name

WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission has ordered nine companies, including Walmart and Target, to explain whether the price of something changes depending on who is looking at it, according to Retail Dive. The orders also went to airlines, ride-sharing firms and food delivery companies. For once, the price tags are the ones being read.

The 15-page orders ask how personal data, including data analyzed with artificial intelligence and information from loyalty programs, may be used to set prices or workers' pay. Recipients have 45 days to respond. "Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

Target pointed Retail Dive to a fact sheet saying it "does not use personal information to raise prices for guests based on who they are, where they live or when they shop." Walmart did not immediately respond to Retail Dive's request for comment; it has publicly defended itself against personalized pricing allegations over the past month.

Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer…

What A Price Tag Knows About You

Nothing, and proud of it	47%
That you came in for milk	23%
That you will leave with more than milk	16%
Your loyalty number, allegedly	9%
Your name, which it refuses to say	5%

Source: The Daily SKU Retail Media Desk; 1,100 fictional shelf tags, one magnifying glass

I spent 14 years making ads feel personal, so I will admit the idea has a certain craft. A price that knows you is just a tagline that charges admission. But I have limits. The weighted blanket ad that has followed me since 2023 has shown me the same fictional price, $189, every time. It reached me 212 times last month. It has never once raised it. That is integrity. That is a brand you can cry with.

"I display one number," said a fictional digital shelf label at a supermarket in Columbus, Ohio. "I display it to everyone. I do not know your name. Some days I barely know the price."

While researching this story I was followed by 14 ads, including one for a privacy screen protector, which I found very on the nose and therefore excellent work.

A fictional loyalty card in a wallet in Tulsa said it has nothing to hide, other than everything you have ever bought. The FTC will start reading the answers in about six weeks. The Blanket will still be there.

Ronan Fairweather edits retail media and DTC coverage. The weighted-blanket ad is still following him. More from Ronan Fairweather ›

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