The Seattle City Council passed the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act, making it the first U.S. city to prohibit personalized pricing in grocery sales. The law bars retailers from using consumers' personal data — including browsing history, real-time location, inferred income, and family health information — to set individualized prices. Seattle joins Maryland, New Jersey, and Connecticut, which have state-level laws against the practice.
The legislation carves out broad room for traditional discounting and loyalty programs but places limits on consumer profiling. UFCW 3000 called it the strongest surveillance pricing ban in the country. The FTC separately announced last month it is seeking public comment on an enforcement policy targeting undisclosed use of personal data for personalized pricing.
For produce retailers and category managers, this is a signal that the regulatory environment around AI-driven pricing is tightening. As more cities and states watch Seattle's move, retailers building dynamic pricing or personalization tools should be paying close attention to how local legislative momentum develops heading into 2027.