Surveillance Pricing Threatens Grocery-Store Transparency

Electronic shelving labels (ESLs)—digital screens that display item prices—have been installed at retailers such as Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, Kroger and Walmart, the latter rolling out the technology in March 2026. Proponents say ESLs reduce labor time, but lawmakers warn the same devices could enable “dynamic” or “surveillance” pricing, where prices shift based on the time of day, a shopper’s location, weather, or personal data.

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In August 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Robert P. Casey Jr. wrote to Kroger’s former chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen, warning that a partnership with Microsoft called “EDGE Shelf” could use facial-recognition cameras to build gender- and age-based profiles for price targeting. Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Ray Clemmons introduced a bill in 2026 prohibiting “personalized algorithmic pricing.” The measure was assigned to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee’s General Subcommittee on April 7. Across state lines, New Jersey Governor Mike Sherrill signed a law on July 23, 2026 aimed at shielding shoppers from surveillance pricing, according to NBC affiliate WCAU.

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A January 2025 FTC study found that retailers frequently use personal information—including location, demographics and even mouse movements—to set “targeted, tailored prices” for identical goods. The agency’s chair, Lina M. Khan, called for continued investigation, emphasizing that Americans deserve transparency about how private data influences the prices they pay.

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WSMV has contacted Kroger, Walmart and Target to confirm whether they employ surveillance-pricing technology. As of this reporting, none of the retailers have responded.

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• “Initial staff findings show that retailers frequently use people’s personal information to set targeted, tailored prices for goods and services—from a person’s location and demographics, down to their mouse movements on a webpage,” — FTC Chair Lina M, said FTC chair

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