FTC orders Target, Walmart to provide details in personalized pricing inquiry

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on how retailers use your customers' personal data. This inquiry targets big players like Target and Walmart, but it serves as a major warning for any business using data to offer different prices to different people. The government is worried that 'personalized pricing'—using data from loyalty programs or browsing history to change price tags—is becoming unfair. For your business, this means the eyes of regulators are now on the data you collect through your financing applications and loyalty apps. If you use customer data to suggest specific financing tiers or localized pricing, you need to be careful. The FTC wants to know if AI and algorithms are being used to charge more to certain groups of people. This isn't just about the price of a product. It extends to the terms of credit and financing offers. If a lender or merchant uses personal information to hide lower-cost options from specific customers, they could be in legal trouble. This inquiry signals that the government is ready to treat 'surveillance pricing' as a consumer rights violation.

Source: Retail Dive

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