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Sometimes—but a price difference alone does not show why it happened or whether it was unlawful. A store may change a price over time or by location, or offer a discount to shoppers who meet stated conditions. A different practice, personalized pricing, uses personal data to estimate what an individual shopper may be willing to pay. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has raised concerns about undisclosed use of personal data, but its August 2026 personalized-pricing statement was a draft for public comment, not a blanket federal ban. State law can add requirements; New York is one example.

To understand two different offers, compare the same product or service, seller, channel, location, time, quantity, and promotion eligibility. Then ask what caused the difference. That is more useful than assuming that any two shoppers seeing different prices means one was singled out—or that the practice is automatically illegal.

What kind of price difference are you seeing?

“Different prices” can describe several practices with different explanations and legal implications. The central question is whether the price changed because of general conditions, a stated qualification, or information about a particular shopper.

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Practice What may cause the price to differ What to check
Dynamic pricing Conditions such as demand or inventory, or the time or locality of the offer. Compare the same seller, item, channel, location, and time. A changing price does not by itself show that a shopper was individually targeted.
Conditional promotion A shopper meets stated requirements—for example, enrolling in a rewards program. Check the offer’s eligibility terms and whether the displayed price reflects a discount available only after qualifying.
Personalized pricing A seller uses personal data to set an individual’s price based on an estimate of that consumer’s willingness to pay. Look for information about personal-data use, but do not infer that it occurred merely because another shopper reports a different price.
Business-to-business price discrimination Different prices for qualifying commodity sales to competing business purchasers. This is a separate legal issue with specific statutory tests; it is not a general rule governing every difference between prices shown to consumers.

These categories can look similar from a shopper’s side. For instance, a lower offer available after joining a rewards program is different from a lower price generated because a seller has assessed that person’s browsing history. Observing the final prices alone may not reveal which explanation applies.

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What personalized pricing means—and what it does not prove

In its description of personalized pricing, FTC staff says a seller may use personal data to set a price based on what it believes an individual consumer is willing to pay. Data can include location, demographics, browsing patterns, shopping history, mouse movements, or items left in an abandoned cart. The important distinction is that the data is used to derive an individual price, rather than simply changing a generally available price because demand or inventory has changed.

The FTC’s initial study examined intermediaries that help businesses use consumer data for pricing. FTC staff reported in 2025 that the intermediaries examined worked with at least 250 clients. The FTC described its examples as hypothetical and said the study was ongoing. Those examples are not proof that a particular named store used a particular tactic, and the client figure should not be read as a count of stores that personalized prices or as evidence of how common the practice is across retail.

It is also possible for prices to vary without a seller using personal data at all. A price may be updated at a different time, differ by locality, reflect inventory or demand, or be conditional on a clearly stated offer. A report that two people saw different numbers is a reason to compare the circumstances; it is not, on its own, evidence that one person’s data determined the price.

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What US federal rules say

The FTC’s August 2026 personalized-pricing statement

In August 2026, the FTC announced a draft enforcement policy statement and invited public comment. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said, “The FTC does not have the legal authority to ban personalized pricing in all circumstances, but businesses that fail to tell consumers how their personal data is being used to set a price may be in violation of the FTC Act and other laws we enforce.” The stated deadline for comments was September 18, 2026.

The announcement therefore did not establish a blanket federal prohibition on personalized pricing. It described the FTC’s proposed enforcement position and its concern about disclosure. The available information establishes the draft and its comment deadline, but does not establish whether the statement was later finalized or revised. Treat it as a draft when describing that August announcement; do not present it as a final rule or as a current, comprehensive legal answer for every transaction.

The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees

The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees took effect on May 12, 2025. Its scope is live-event tickets and short-term lodging—not retail goods generally. FTC guidance for those covered transactions says businesses may use demand- or inventory-based dynamic pricing if the pricing information is not misleading. The guidance also addresses prominent display of total prices and conditional promotions.

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This is a limited but useful distinction: dynamic pricing is not categorically prohibited by that rule in its covered ticketing and lodging settings, but the pricing information must not mislead consumers. The rule is not a general federal law requiring every store to charge all shoppers the same amount, nor does its guidance establish one universal disclosure rule for every retail purchase.

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The Robinson-Patman Act is about a different kind of sale

The FTC’s Robinson-Patman Act guide concerns qualifying sales of commodities to competing business purchasers. Its tests include whether goods of like grade and quality were sold to at least two purchasers within approximately the same period, and whether there was a reasonable possibility of injury to competition. The FTC identifies cost differences, including savings related to volume, and good-faith price concessions made to meet a competitor as potential defenses.

Those conditions matter because the law is not a simple rule that any two buyers who pay different prices can claim illegal discrimination. Its business-to-business framework should not be confused with the question of whether a consumer saw a different online or in-store price from another consumer.

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What New York requires as a state example

New York’s Attorney General said the state Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act took effect on November 10, 2025. The Attorney General said the law requires most companies that use customers’ personal data to set algorithmic prices to disclose that use. In a January 8, 2026 release, the office quoted the required notice as: “THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA.”

This is a New York example, not a nationwide disclosure requirement. The federal and New York material described here does not establish the law in every state or country. If a price difference matters to a purchase or complaint, check the rules that apply where the transaction occurs; the fact that a particular notice is required in New York does not establish that the same notice is required elsewhere.

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How to compare two prices fairly

Before drawing a conclusion, make the comparison as close to like-for-like as possible. A price comparison is less informative if the products, timing, location, seller, or discount eligibility differ. Record what you can see before the offer changes, then identify the difference that remains.

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  1. Match the item or service. Confirm the exact product, model, size, quantity, or service details—not just a similar-looking listing.
  2. Match the seller and channel. Check that both prices came from the same retailer and the same sales channel, such as the same website or physical store. A marketplace seller or another channel may have its own offer.
  3. Match location and time. Note the store or delivery location and when each price was seen. A different locality or a later check may capture a location- or time-based change.
  4. Check quantity and promotion terms. Look for multi-item offers, coupon requirements, rewards-program enrollment, or other stated qualifications. Identify whether one price depends on meeting a condition.
  5. Compare the checkout total. Review the final amount before paying, including any charges shown during checkout. In live-event ticketing and short-term lodging, FTC guidance specifically addresses prominent total-price displays; that rule’s scope does not extend to all retail goods.
  6. Write down what differs. If the product, seller, channel, location, time, quantity, and stated eligibility all match, you have a more useful record for asking the retailer how the offers were set. The comparison still may not show whether personal data was used.

This process can help separate a changed general offer from a discount tied to a qualification. It cannot independently establish the retailer’s pricing method: the same observed difference may have more than one explanation, and a shopper may not have access to the seller’s internal data or pricing logic.

What reported grocery-price figures do—and do not—show

A New York Attorney General release described a 2025 experiment by Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative involving 437 shoppers across four cities. As reported by the Attorney General, nearly three-quarters of grocery items in the experiment were offered at multiple prices, and the average difference between the highest and lowest price for an individual good was 13 percent. The release also said the study estimated those differences could translate to $1,200 a year for a typical family of four.

These figures describe that experiment as reported by the state Attorney General. They are not a universal rate of price variation, an estimate for every store or shopper, or a statement of current prices. The reported average compares the highest and lowest observed prices for an individual good in the study; it should not be taken to mean that every shopper paid 13 percent more, or that an individual’s personal data caused the difference. The study figures also do not, by themselves, establish that a pricing practice was unlawful.

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What you can do if you suspect personal-data pricing

Ask about the offer, not just the number

Use the comparison details you recorded to ask the retailer whether the difference came from timing, location, inventory, a promotion, or a price set using personal data. Ask what qualifications apply and whether the stated price is the amount you will pay. A clear question about the specific listing or transaction is more actionable than a general claim that prices differed.

Use privacy settings with realistic expectations

The FTC’s draft statement mentioned possible steps such as using a VPN or a private browsing session, or choosing a retailer whose prices are static or widely offered. The announcement does not establish that a VPN or private browsing reliably changes a displayed price. These tools should not be treated as guaranteed ways to lower a price or defeat profiling; a price may be driven by factors other than an identifiable browsing session.

Consider the legal context before escalating

First determine where the sale occurred and what kind of transaction it was. A New York disclosure requirement, an FTC draft policy statement, a rule limited to live-event tickets and short-term lodging, and a law addressing certain business-to-business commodity sales are not interchangeable. If you believe a retailer misled you or failed to follow a requirement that applies to your transaction, preserve the offer details and consult the relevant consumer-protection authority or a qualified legal professional for advice about your circumstances.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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