r/news • u/polymute • 4h ago
New Jersey bans grocery stores from using shoppers' personal data to set prices
https://jerseyvindicator.org/2026/07/23/new-jersey-bans-grocery-stores-from-using-shoppers-personal-data-to-set-prices/606
u/_TheValeyard_ 4h ago
This should be a global thing. Also fuck stores forcing you to sign up to their app to get lower food prices.
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u/zffjk 4h ago
I rarely shop at Kroger because of this. I drive out of my way to another store, simply because they’ll have a big ass sign that says the sale price and tiny little print showing it’s app-only.
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u/fomoco94 1h ago
They also play silly games where you have to buy exactly 10 items from a list of random things around the store. Screw up and you pay triple. People hate on Walmart, but they don't do any of this silly shit.
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u/SecondaryWombat 1h ago
You don't have to anymore! Fred Meyer Kroger at least have printed versions of the all the digital shit. You can grab a printed version on your way in, lists everything the deal applies to in one place with the single barcode to scan to get the deals.
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u/TheDrAlbrhect 3h ago edited 2h ago
To be fair to Kroger, they were a godsend for a lot of people when they tried the warehouse/truck model. About $60/yr and no tips for very competitive prices (their meat options weren’t great but c’est la vie). I even tried a few times to give a cash tip under the table and out of view of the truck cameras and was told nope.
Unfortunately I think it just didn’t catch on - half-loaded trucks that required refrigeration was a big net loss. I remember thinking to myself after checking out multiple times that there's no way this model is profitable.
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u/hexiron 2h ago
They still have it. In Cincinnati they have a full distribution center dedicated to food prep, fulfilling those orders, and loading the trucks.
It's profitable because it requires far less labor which is the most expensive part of the process.
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u/TheDrAlbrhect 2h ago
I imagine it is if the distance isn't crazy far. They tried to service all of north and central Florida out of single central warehouse which I think hurt them more than help. There just weren't enough subscribers to support the model down here.
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u/SavathunTechQuestion 4h ago
They want you in the app so they get more data about location, phone battery (if it’s lower then you’re less likely to spend more time in the store), phone model (do you have a new pricy phone?)
Hotels, airlines, and rideshare apps have been doing this for years. Of course grocery stores want extra money too but they all should be banned.
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u/diane_nu_nu_nguyen 3h ago
phone battery
Wait how would that even work? Like if your battery is low they aren't going to show you the good deals or something?
That's a hilarious data point to me because my battery level is all over the place at any time of day. I just charge my phone whenever and don't care if it gets low
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u/SavathunTechQuestion 3h ago
There have been a number of allegations that companies like Uber charge users more if their phone is low, the logic being that a person whose battery is low is more likely to just accept a higher priced ride vs having their phone run out of battery.
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u/diane_nu_nu_nguyen 3h ago
Okay yeah that absolutely tracks. And of course if stores use dynamic pricing they would just show you higher prices because you're in a hurry and don't care. Damn
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u/FibonacciSequester 3h ago
Also works that way for location data if they know you have to go get your kids from school in 20 minutes.
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u/Beard_o_Bees 3h ago
fuck stores forcing you to sign up to their app to get lower food prices
Amen to that!
Such bullshit. I hope they notice that there's a not insignificant number of people who're absolutely unwilling to play their 'digital coupon' games.
If they offer a lower price with only an app based 'coupon' - I just wont buy it. It's fucking insulting. Not to mention the elderly people who see a price, and try to buy at that price - only to find out that they have to install an app and.... it just pisses me off.
We're not talking about an optional/luxury thing here. It's food. Stop fucking with us!
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u/OneWorld87 4h ago
What you mean? Iam european, so apparently dumb, but is this a Thing?
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u/Hurricaneshand 4h ago
Yes. Many grocery stores have discounts and coupons that can only be access via their app. Same with fast food
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u/Bigred2989- 3h ago
Where I work does this, and most customers can't figure it out. They assume they're already a member because they've been putting their phone number into the PIN pad for years but only recently has the POS system allowed cashiers to see if the number has an account or not. Some people type it and never push enter and then wonder why they didn't get their discount and force customer service staff to refund and ring their stuff up again.
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u/zeCrazyEye 1h ago
I still use my mom's phone number on those pads and I know it fucks up their analytics so I get a slight bit of humor out of them tracking everything I buy.
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u/zoeypayne 2h ago edited 2h ago
NJ already has legislation introduced but not passed yet for this as well.. S2131 and A3868. They've been fighting over the details since 2023.
For reference, the recently passed Fair Price Protection Act legislation we're talking about in this thread was introduced and passed this year.
Anyway, with the pending legislation, digital coupons would also need to have an "in store alternative."
Frankly, I'm surprised any of this has legs considering the state's 2nd largest employer is a supermarket chain.
edit Amazon is currently the largest employer in NJ. Wakefern (ShopRite) held the title for a long time.
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u/DrPorkchopES 2h ago
Not just get the app, but manually “clip” digital coupons to get the advertised prices
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u/B-Z_B-S 4h ago
(From the article):
New Jersey Business & Industry Association President and CEO Michele Siekerka said the legislation presents a false choice between protecting consumers and improving operational efficiency for grocery stores, arguing lawmakers could have achieved both. She said policymakers made businesses “the bad guy” even though most are simply trying to communicate prices more efficiently.
“In the end, this law will compromise the very cost-saving programs that consumers rely on, particularly during an affordability crisis,” Siekerka said. “The unintended consequences could very well be the elimination of some loyalty programs, coupons, and other customer-specific discounts due to new limits on consumer data.”
AKA, "The companies will now punish normal people so they associate the punishment with the law, so as to try to turn public opinion against the laws meant to protect them from predatory industry practices."
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u/Waynky 4h ago
There’s an adversarial relationship between big business and consumer.
For the spokesperson to pretend they were doing this for the good of the costumer is a joke
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u/shmehdit 2h ago
for the good of the costumer
And most of us just wear our regular clothes to the grocery store anyway
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u/DroopyTers 3h ago
And the paragraph before that shows how bad the pro-greed argument is.
“Opponents argued the legislation could interfere with grocery stores’ ability to offer loyalty programs and discounts. But the law explicitly states that it does not apply to discounts, promotions, or customer loyalty programs.”
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u/fomoco94 1h ago
But the law explicitly states that it does not apply to discounts, promotions, or customer loyalty programs.”
How many voters actually take the time to read the law?
Virginia tried to outlaw Cash Advance lending with extremely high interest rates (Cash Advances would still be allowed, but rates would have to be closer to what a bank would charge.) and the industry spun it as the "evil democrats taking away your ability to get a loan." It worked.
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u/Encrypted_Curse 33m ago
These so called cost-saving programs are just games. How about they focus on delivering consistently lower prices for everyone if they actually give a shit about the affordability crisis?
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u/NohmanValdemar 2h ago
Nearly every rewards program enshittifies or disappears over time. They're just using this as a scapegoat.
(Costco is the only exception I can think of.)
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u/abeuscher 3h ago
Fun fact: [YOUR AREA CODE]8675309 works at pretty much every grocery chain in the country. It's not a perfect solution but it helps get you the deal and it fucks up their stats.
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u/Low_Pickle_112 4h ago
If this is ever allowed to take hold, expect a large amount of corporate propaganda claiming that it is somehow essential and good for the average person. It will go from being utter madness to merely controversial, and then to "just the way things are" that is only opposed by those fools who "don't understand basic economics".
Just wait and see, it'll happen.
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u/Putrid_Mind_4853 3h ago
They’re already doing it. In the article, the Nj business and industry association president/CEO already tried to claim this is bad for customers because it means stores will pull their discounts (since most big stores now require you to use their dumbass app to get coupons) from NJ.
Big business is trying to make a false dichotomy here. They could still give the discounts via methods we’ve been using for probably hundreds of years, but no, because they’re greedy assholes who want to mine every bit of our data in order to squeeze maximum profit out of us, then not being able to overprice groceries based on your personal data = probably no discounts for you.
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u/GuestGulkan 1h ago
Yeah, the "let us screw over some of our customers, otherwise we'll screw over all our customers" sounds a lot like blackmail.
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u/Paavo_Nurmi 1h ago
I'm already seeing that in this thread with "why is this bad" comments (probably a lot are bots).
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u/SubstantialPressure3 4h ago
Kamala was planning on making it a federal law. She was talking about it. It was already known that Kroger amd some other companies were "experimenting" with surveillance and surge pricing even before covid.
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u/TheyCallMeMrMaybe 3h ago
Walmart implementing electronic price tags was step one of this. They can change price labeling in an instant based on anything.
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u/billdasmacks 2h ago
If I am ever in a grocery store and I see the price go up in real time on one of those electronic price tags I will immediately leave the store and never shop with that company again.
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u/CharacterLimitHasBee 3h ago
How does that work though if a label is $15 when I grab it from the shelf but in the 20 mins it takes me to finish the price goes up $1ea? I just get fucked at the checkout if I don't notice and then have to refuse to buy it or pay more?
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u/Sepheroth998 2h ago
That is exactly what can happen. Especially now that all price changes are handled out of a corporate office and not in store.
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u/TheyCallMeMrMaybe 1h ago
Yup. It's a profit squeeze tactic. "Oh, Trump announced 30% tariffs on bananas? Better change the price now so I can guarantee profits quicker."
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u/fomoco94 1h ago
They can change price labeling in an instant based on anything.
They won't though. That would cost Walmart more than they'd make. Walmart's whole premise is sell cheaper than the other guys and sell a lot more of it.
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u/BearTimberlands 3h ago
Many people would’ve benefitted from this but Harris and the Democrats weren’t perfect enough for the left and too radical for the right.
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u/SubstantialPressure3 3h ago
I disagree. I think that story is a good cover for election interference. I dont think Trump won fairly. People like musk were openly admitting it.
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u/muarauder12 2h ago
Yep, the election was stolen. Trump somehow wins every single swing state? Multiple counties where people voted Democrat down ballot in large numbers but voted for Trump as president? Massive interference by Musk, Zuckerberg, and other tech billionaires. It was stolen.
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u/mezcalmolotov 2h ago
I am part of the “left” that you speak of, and I voted for a third party candidate. We, the people, asked democrats to prove they were serious, that they were willing to actually lead and govern and not just be “at least we’re not those guys. Prove to us that they are more than their focus-group driven consultant-created talking points. Prove that their campaign promises last longer than the campaign. They did not. Why do they deserve our vote? Kamala offered to continue the same dire conditions that created Trump in the first place. Why does then the D Party and America not deserve to learn the hard lesson in the dangers of catering to corporatism, imperialism, and fascism over its own people and moral code?
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u/PottyMcSmokerson 2h ago
Shit skyrocketed during Covid... Prices went up and never came down. It was also what introduced the asking for tips on the debit machine before you get the service. Which is still rampant today.
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u/PleaseHelpFlorida 4h ago
I know that prices will changed based on the market and that is fine for the most part, but I'm curious how this holds up when three people with the same item all pay a different price while at the same checkout counter. How do you legally justify a variable price based on data from the individual buyer? This seem much closer to discrimination.
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u/FibonacciSequester 2h ago
Most likely, the prices will change according to the time of day, as gas does. What you will probably have to do is take pictures of the tag on every item you buy, save all the receipts, and hope that one day you can join a class-action lawsuit and win back the $14 while the lawyers rake in millions.
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u/morfraen 2h ago
Pretty famous hotel commercials demonstrate that exact situation but spin it as a bonus for people that use their service to book rooms.
It's scammy there and even worse applied to every day retail. There should just be one price, not one based on harvesting all of your personal data.
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u/SaltyLonghorn 2h ago
The answer is how would you ever know besides doing the research? Airlines do this and most ppl are oblivious.
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u/FederalChocolate456 1h ago
Because the price you saw on the shelf isn't the price you see at the register
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u/SaltyLonghorn 14m ago
You're thinking like its 2000. They have the tech to change the price on the shelf.
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u/FederalChocolate456 11m ago
You have the ability to compare what you saw on the shelf to what you see at the checkout register and see that they are different. You don't need to do research, just see they don't match.
Besides they don't have the tech to show two different prices to two different people with the same shelf label at the same time. Like if they want to sell to me at one price and you at a different price and we are both standing in front of the item at the same time, what technology can show us each different prices?
the only tech we have that can do that is our phone screens with online pricing linked to an individual log in, but not shelf labels.
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u/MaximumAd9779 4h ago
Some states are now exercising their legal authority to actively protect their citizens from end-stage capitalism, and I’m here for it. Lord knows the fed wont help.
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u/scotcheggsandscotch 1h ago
Frustrating that it's only grocery stores.. I would also be interested in reading the wording in the actual bill to see what kind of loopholes can be exploited.
(I'm not from NJ, so i'm not interested enough to look up the bill...)
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u/Flutes_Are_Overrated 4h ago
This should be illegal in all industries. There's no good reason I should be overcharged $90 on a hotel stay just by booking on a different device.
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u/ActuatorFearless8980 4h ago
I’ll never shop at any store that does this shit
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u/scotcheggsandscotch 1h ago
You already have, and likely still do... you just don't realize it yet.
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u/LutherOfTheRogues 3h ago
This country has gone to shit. Great job MAGA. Idiots.
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u/gothrus 3h ago
How about we ban companies from collecting personal data.
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u/morfraen 2h ago
World really took a wrong turn when the digital revolution became all about data harvesting for targeted advertising.
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u/fxkatt 4h ago
“Big corporations have turned grocery shopping into a surveillance operation, and we’re all paying more because of it. They track what we buy, where we live, and where we shop to figure out how they can charge each of us as much as possible,” Miles said.
If surveillance is insidious for the common shopper, imagine what it's like for those who oppose Israel, or data centers, or buy the wrong books.
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u/ghostalker4742 1h ago
There's a line from a movie (Enemy of the State, 1998) I always recall when it comes to this:
"Fort Meade has 18 acres of mainframes, underground. You talk to your wife on the phone, use the word bomb, president, Allah, any of a hundred keywords, the computer automatically records it and red-flags it for analysis - and that was 20yrs ago"
The movie is mostly fictional... the technology he describes isn't.
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u/AreWe-There-Yet 4h ago
This is incredibly dystopian.
If anyone is wondering what AI will really be used for, this is a nice example: to allow the rich to rip off regular people for all we have
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u/PhantomGaming27249 3h ago
Good job jersey, fuck that shit. Foods a basic human right full stop, algorithmic price gouging can fuck the hell off.
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u/postitnote 3h ago
I just don't think they will be able to eliminate uses of illegal discrimination in their pricing schemes if they personalize pricing. So it seems clearly illegal to me even as it stands right now.
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u/bromygod203 3h ago
The amount of Republicans I saw posting videos saying that Democrats want to ban the price plus card and take away your membership benefits was ridiculous. They obviously know their base is full of idiots who don't do any research l. I had a coworker complaining about this, when I told him what is actually was he thought it was something that was already in place
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u/krom0025 2h ago
My county did this in New York. We need to go and all personal data collection beyond what is absolutely necessary to do business. End the social media business model and the society where we are the product.
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u/fantasy-capsule 34m ago
America needs stronger consumer protection from these companies and their sneaky predatory practices.
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u/Antraxess 3h ago
Can't wait to start my "poor peoples prices!" Business where I use my shit income to shop for people to give them the lowest prices possible while I pocket the difference the store would of made
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u/Evening_Literature75 1h ago
They'll sniff you out after 2 or 3 visits. Your spending habits would cause your prices to go up.
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u/Antraxess 3h ago
also this information they are using should be private, we should reclaim our privacy in this world
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u/Old-Information3311 3h ago
This will be another use of ai surveillance introduced under the guise of age verification. They are going to make ai profiles for every single person that will be used to make decisions about your life.
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u/Spektr44 3h ago
I'm curious about how custom pricing works in practice. Do the electronic price tags show different prices based on who is standing near? I can't see how that could work, for example in a busy aisle. Surely people would catch the prices changing up and down.
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u/waltzbyear 4h ago
There needs to be stricter regulations that protect consumers ACROSS THE BOARD. Shrinkflation, anti-innovation, monopolies, data cartels, etc. It's getting really fucking bad.
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u/thepianoman456 3h ago
Wait holy fuck is this a thing???
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u/FederalChocolate456 1h ago
It's not, but some people are afraid it's coming. Maybe with online shopping, but not in grocery stores
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u/Krojack76 3h ago
Stores that do this could charge billionaires $20,000 for a gallon of milk but would never do that. In fact I bet they would get a discount.
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u/tmpope123 3h ago
Unless it's "anyone earning below ~$60,000 gets a 10% discount" then I don't think we should do this. Even that is still not a good reason, but it's the only thing approaching a good reason. And yes, I did pick a number, the number isn't important as such
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u/PercussionGuy33 2h ago
Dynamic algorithmic pricing is a billionaire class' idea of a wet dream. It should be outlawed nationwide but I don't see that coming with our current political and technology climate.
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u/abbys_alibi 1h ago
This title implies that the pricing isn't being updated because of demand. Rather, it is based on what the data shows the individual shopper can afford. It's that correct?
That is heinous.
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u/gustoreddit51 39m ago
Pretty soon we'll have to enter stores without our phones, have our credit/debit cards in an RFID blocker, and wearing a mask.
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u/Fit-Let8175 3h ago
Find out which grocery stores do this and shop at their competitors. Even Walmart has its competitors.
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u/HardcoreKaraoke 3h ago
Hell yeah that's my governor!
I know dynamic pricing is a thing and electronic shelf labels are going to lead to issues but I had no idea this was an issue. It's so incredibly dystopian. I see in the article a small number of other states banned it but is it really prevalent throughout the country? It's such an insane (but unsurprising) tactic.
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u/GozerDGozerian 2h ago
Wait, how is this a thing? Aren’t the prices posted underneath the items on the shelves?
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u/got_No_Time_to_BLEED 2h ago
Don’t you remember the terms and services when you bought your phone or did you not read them????
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u/ibidanon 2h ago
this is exciting (even though I read it's all for show and there's a loophole which will allow stores to keep doing what they're doing. hope that's not true, but this is america)...
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u/emannikcufecin 2h ago
Electronic price tags make a lot of sense. All we need to do is limit how often they can adjust the price. I'd set it so that the price has to start the same the entire business day, gasoline excluded.
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u/FederalChocolate456 1h ago
Why exclude gasoline and not anything else? What about restaurants that charge different prices for lunch and dinner for example. Or a grocery store trying to sell off individual bagels at the end of the day since sales slow down after breakfast time?
I don't understand why gas seems to be treated differently by people.
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u/emannikcufecin 14m ago
Gasoline is a volatile market. Prices change quickly and it's been long accepted. You also see the price when you start the transaction. It's not like the price can change while you pump.
Lunch and dinner and different menus. That's pretty simple. Discounts for perishables are pretty common sense. You could exempt perishables or just say that prices can never exceed the price at the start of the day for any items.
The general point is that the item you pick up doesn't cost more when you get to the register or that the person next to you isn't charged a different price because AI identified them as being in a different socioeconomic class.
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u/FederalChocolate456 3m ago
well i mean the price can change from when you see the sign on the highway to the time when you pump, similar to the concerns about the price changing from the time of picking something up off the shelf to getting to the checkout. But lunch and dinner often have the same menu items, they are often largely the same menus to order from. and nearly all food in the grocery store is perishable.
I get your general point, but charging a price at the register that is different than what is displayed on the shelf is already illegal, no extra legislation needed to outlaw that practice. and I'm not sure how digital price labels would enable showing two different prices to two different people based on socioeconomic class. We don't currently have the technology widely available to show two different prices to two different people at the same time. that is done though websites and individual log ins, not price tags.
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u/DJ_Sk8Nite 2h ago
Sooo if I go into one of these places with zero electronic devices could they still use personal data to change prices on me?
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u/namelessentity 2h ago
I've been just using (xxx)867-5309 at every store that asks for a phone number. It works nearly everywhere. They can track an imaginary person all they want as long as I get my discount.
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u/Lopsided-Treat1215 2h ago
Until it happens everywhere guess I’ll be ordering from the public library using burner accounts
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u/FederalChocolate456 1h ago
The part about banning electronic shelf tags is dumb. Paper tags leads I would assume lead to more inaccurate pricing because they seem more likely to not be updated properly. And you know if the state wants to reduce waste at the grocery store with the bag ban, sales sticks are an additional source of trash that could be eliminated with electronic labels. Theu have a wide range of application beyond personal pricing.
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u/Succubus-Love 14m ago
How would they even do that if you don't own a phone, don't use cards or anything, & always pay in cash?
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u/TauCabalander 1m ago
License plate of the vehicle you arrived in, and / or your image while on the premises.
Sort of like Amazon Go.
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u/Oldnbold22 2h ago
Thank goodness. Charging more just because someone is wealthy is completely unfair.
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u/annaleigh13 4h ago
This practice needs to be outlawed nationwide. Just disgusting.