The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an investigation into several major corporations regarding their use of customer data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence for personalized pricing strategies. Companies such as Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, Task Software, McKinsey & Co., Revionics, Bloomreach, and Pros have received inquiries from the FTC, which aims to understand the implications of these practices on privacy, competition, and consumer protection.
These firms utilize data-driven tools, including AI, to implement what is known as “surveillance pricing” or “dynamic pricing,” which allows them to present different prices for the same products based on consumer characteristics and behaviors, such as location, demographics, credit history, and online activity.
Many of the involved companies provide transaction and pricing services to prominent businesses both in the U.S. and internationally. For instance, Task Software is linked with major hospitality brands such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, while Revionics specializes in retail price optimization software for global chains like Home Depot. Pros, which offers AI-powered pricing solutions, serves notable clients including Nestlé, HP, and United Airlines, and collaborates with Microsoft for technology developments.
The FTC is probing into this complex market that identifies consumers and adjusts prices accordingly. FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized the risks associated with companies leveraging personal data to potentially impose higher prices, stating, “Americans deserve to know whether businesses are using detailed consumer data to deploy surveillance pricing, and the FTC’s inquiry will shed light on this shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen.”
The FTC is particularly interested in four key areas: the features of surveillance pricing products and services offered by each company, their data collection methods, details regarding customer and sales information, and the impact of these practices on the pricing consumers face.