Grocery stores caught charging different prices based on your phone data

Same store, same product but different price. Just because of your data. That’s the idea behind something called “surveillance pricing.” If you didn’t know, that is a thing, and one U.S. state is trying to shut it down.

Surveillance pricing means retail companies use your personal data such as what you search, where you shop, and even your spending patterns, to tweak the price you see.

We’re not talking about discounts or coupons. Actual different prices.

So two people could be standing in the same grocery aisle and technically not be getting the same deal.

Maryland said “we’re not doing that”

The state is moving to ban the practice through something called the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act. The fight is to have people pay for the price they see without their data being used to tweak prices.

If signed by Governor Wes Moore, it would stop grocery stores and delivery apps from using personal data to raise prices. It also goes further by treating violations as deceptive trade practices and opens violating companies up to lawsuits and fines.

It’s not a perfect fix

According to groups like Consumer Reports, the move is a good start but not airtight. Some of the loopholes they pointed out include how loyalty programs can still influence pricing and subscription-based pricing is still allowed.

The group also argued that there is no strict baseline price requirement, as the law focuses more on raising prices unfairly, not all personalization.

So while the bill tackles the idea of surveillance pricing, it doesn’t fully shut the door on personalized pricing tricks.

Either way, the move could yield really great results. The idea that your phone data could influence how much you pay for a gallon of milk is, frankly, a bit much. If more states take a stand against this kind of pricing, it sure will not fly for long, at least not without a fight.

Source: Scripps News