CAN I HELP? 007: PERSONALIZED PRICING

What if the price you see was chosen specifically for you?

A store may use information about a shopper to shape an offer. If that changes the price of an ordinary item, the shopper should be able to see it before deciding to buy. An invisible adjustment creates room for a troubling practice: charging someone more based on what the seller thinks they are willing, or pressed, to pay.

THE PUBLIC QUESTION

What would a useful disclosure of personalized pricing actually look like?

THE OBSERVATION

A notice saying “this price is personalized” tells a shopper very little. They still cannot tell whether their information raised or lowered the price, by how much, or what information was used.

THE PROPOSED IDEA

Show the personalized price beside a meaningful generally offered price for the same item, place, channel, and time. Show the difference at the product listing and again in the cart, item by item. Explain the types of personal information used and give shoppers a way to inspect or correct it.

If there is no honest comparison price, say so. Do not invent a “regular price” to make the offer look like a discount.

This is a proposed consumer disclosure, illustrated with fictional products and prices. It asks a simple question: If my information changed the price, can I see the change while I can still choose?

RECORD
Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Proceeding: FTC-2026-1057
Status: Comment prepared; filing confirmed 9/24/26

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