Big grocery chains may be spying on your cart to jack up prices — this new bill wants to stop that

Democrats move to ban shelf price tech

Two Democratic senators introduced a bill on Feb. 12 that would ban digital price tags and personalized pricing at large grocery stores.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon filed the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act of 2026.

The bill would also bar stores from using shoppers’ personal data to set different prices for different customers, a practice critics call “surveillance pricing.”

The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the law.

Already co-sponsored by house members

The bill has a partner version in the House, led by Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Val Hoyle of Oregon.

That version has 50 co-sponsors. Both bills would also require stores to tell shoppers if they use facial recognition technology. No Republican co-sponsors have been reported on either version.

In December 2025, Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Josh Hawley of Missouri sent a bipartisan letter urging the FTC to address surveillance pricing, showing some cross-party concern.

How do digital shelf labels actually work?

Electronic shelf labels, or ESLs, are small digital screens that replace the paper price tags on store shelves. They connect to a central computer that can update prices across an entire store in minutes.

With paper tags, that same job could take workers up to two days. The technology can also flash a light to help workers find items that need restocking.

Critics worry stores could use ESLs to raise prices based on the time of day, the weather, or who is walking the aisles.

Walmart and Kroger lead the digital push

Walmart announced in 2024 that it would bring ESLs to about 2,300 stores by 2026, then expanded that goal to cover all roughly 4,600 U.S. stores.

Kroger started using the technology in 2018 and had it in about 500 locations by 2023, with more rollout underway.

Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and Schnuck Markets also use the labels.

Retailers say the technology improves efficiency, cuts waste from printed tags, and helps them lower prices faster for customers.

Retailers push back on “surveillance” label

Walmart says ESLs help workers spend less time changing tags and more time helping shoppers. The industry calls the practice “dynamic pricing,” not surveillance pricing.

Kroger said any digital tag testing is meant to lower prices where it matters most, and the company said it has never used surge pricing.

A University of Texas at Austin study found no evidence of surge pricing currently happening at physical grocery stores.

Industry supporters also say the technology helps reduce food waste by allowing faster markdowns on items close to their sell-by date.

An Instacart investigation shook things up

In December 2025, a Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative investigation into Instacart grocery delivery found that prices were not always the same for every shopper.

The study included 437 participants across four U.S. cities who bought the same items at the same time. Researchers found about three-quarters of products tested showed different prices for different people.

The largest gap on a single item reached 23%. Researchers estimated the price differences could cost a family of four roughly $1,200 extra per year.

Instacart ended the price tests

After the investigation and reported FTC scrutiny, Instacart said on Dec. 22, 2025, that it was ending all item price tests on its platform.

The company said the tests “missed the mark for some customers” at a time when families are working hard to stretch every grocery dollar.

Instacart said the experiments were short-term, randomized, and not based on personal data. The company also disputed the $1,200 annual projection, calling it misleading.

Retailers on the platform will still set their own prices, which can vary from store to store.

The FTC study that got shelved

In July 2024, then-FTC Chair Lina Khan launched a study into surveillance pricing, ordering eight companies to hand over information.

In January 2025, the FTC released early findings showing companies use a wide range of personal data, from location to browsing history to mouse movements, to set individual prices.

The study found at least 250 businesses had adopted the strategy. A bipartisan group of senators urged Ferguson to reopen it in December 2025.

After FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson took over in January 2025, he shut down the public comment period, effectively ending the inquiry.

Grocery workers union joins the push

The United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents more than 800,000 grocery workers, launched its “Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign” alongside the bill.

UFCW President Milton Jones said Americans are hurting under the affordability crisis. The union argues ESLs could also threaten jobs by replacing clerks who manage pricing.

The UFCW has created model legislation for states that would require paper shelf pricing in any store larger than 10,000 square feet. On Feb. 11, 70 UFCW members met with legislators in Albany, New York, to push for a state-level ban.

Seven states locked onto surveillance pricing

Legislators in New York, Oklahoma, Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, Maryland, and Tennessee have all introduced state-level bills targeting surveillance pricing or ESLs.

New York is building on a 2025 state law that already requires companies to notify customers when algorithms using personal data set prices.

California also has pending bills that would restrict surveillance pricing at grocery stores. The UFCW’s model state legislation would ban pricing based on unique personal characteristics.

More states are expected to introduce similar legislation throughout 2026.

A Wendy’s moment helped set the stage

In February 2024, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner mentioned testing “dynamic pricing” during an earnings call, and the backlash was swift.

Consumers and media took the remarks as a plan for surge pricing on fast food, and calls for a boycott spread across social media.

Wendy’s quickly said its CEO’s comments had been misunderstood and denied any plans to raise prices during busy hours.

The episode showed how strongly Americans resist the idea of prices that shift on everyday food, and it became a warning sign for companies eyeing the same strategy.

Where the bill goes from here

The Senate bill faces long odds in a divided Congress, and no Republican co-sponsors have been reported.

The state-level push may move faster, with bills already introduced in seven states. Retailers continue expanding ESL technology regardless of what lawmakers do.

Consumer advocates say the issue will grow as artificial intelligence makes pricing algorithms more powerful.

For now, shoppers at physical stores generally still see the same price for the same item, but the technology to change that is already in place at thousands of locations.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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