FTC Demands Walmart, Uber, Delta Hand Over Data on AI-Powered Personalized Pricing Practices

FTC Targets Major Retailers and Tech Platforms Over Personalized Pricing

The FTC has issued information demands to nine major companies—Walmart, Uber, Target, Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart—requiring them to disclose whether and how they use consumers' personal data to set individualized prices, wages, and job offers1

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. The investigation focuses on the use of consumers' personal data such as location, browsing history, and income to determine pricing on an individual basis. Companies have 45 days to respond to the FTC demands data requests3

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. The timing of this action is significant, coming just days before congressional elections, as voters consistently rank the cost of living as their top concern4

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AI-Driven Personalized Pricing Raises Regulatory Concerns

The advance of algorithmic pricing technology, including tools that incorporate AI, has fueled regulatory scrutiny over whether companies can extract the maximum price each shopper would be willing to pay1

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. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has stated that personalizing pricing could violate consumer protection laws where consumers do not expect it and that companies should expect enforcement2

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. The FTC study aims to fill in knowledge gaps about personalized pricing strategies, which are difficult to observe from the outside because they serve different prices to different people5

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. The agency is demanding comprehensive information about the tools, strategies, and data companies use as well as how they affect prices, wages and job offers4

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Walmart Pledges Against Using Personal Data for Pricing

Walmart has taken an unusually direct public stance on this issue. CEO John Furner stated in a September letter that "We price the product, not the person," emphasizing that the company does not use a shopper's income, shopping history, urgency, or estimated willingness to pay to establish individualized prices3

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. The retailer claims it will not use any information customers provide through its AI shopping tools to raise their costs. Walmart says its pricing algorithms consider traditional retail criteria including inventory, competition, region, expenses, and seasonality—not calculations of the maximum amount an individual shopper may be willing to spend3

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. This distinction becomes increasingly crucial as Walmart expands the role AI plays across its digital operations while competing to make buying more individualized.

Industry Response and State-Level Action

Several companies have denied using personalized pricing. JetBlue stated it doesn't use personal information or web browsing history to set individualized prices, noting that fares are determined by demand and seat availability4

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. Delta and Instacart have also denied having personalized pricing practices3

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. Meanwhile, efforts by state lawmakers to ban personalized pricing, along with the use of algorithms to individually tailor wages, have taken off in recent years2

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. The National Retail Federation has criticized these laws and defended retailers' use of data-driven discounts as a means of incentivizing loyalty1

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What This Means for Consumers and Businesses

After the FTC called for public comment, hundreds of commenters urged the agency to ban the practice outright, though the FTC has said it does not have the authority to issue a blanket prohibition against personalized pricing5

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. The investigation does not imply that targeted companies currently employ individualized pricing but raises questions about where helpful customization stops and customized pricing starts when businesses gain more knowledge about specific clients3

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. The FTC will use the collected information to eventually publish a study to help inform regulators and lawmakers about personalized pricing and wage setting practices2

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. Watch for how companies respond to these demands and whether the FTC study leads to new regulatory frameworks governing AI-driven pricing practices. The outcome could reshape how retailers balance AI-powered personalization with consumer trust and determine whether discriminatory pricing becomes subject to stricter oversight.