The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an investigation into several major companies regarding their use of customer data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence for personalized pricing strategies.
Eight firms across different sectors, including Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, Task Software, McKinsey & Co., Revionics, Bloomreach, and Pros, have received information requests from the FTC. The regulatory agency seeks insights into how these pricing practices affect privacy, competition, and consumer protection.
These companies utilize various data tools, including AI, to implement a method known as “surveillance pricing” or “dynamic pricing,” where different prices are offered to consumers for the same products based on individual characteristics or behaviors. Factors that may influence pricing include location, demographics, credit history, and online shopping habits.
Many of the firms under investigation provide transactional, sales, and pricing services to some of the leading corporations in the U.S. and worldwide. Task Software supports major hospitality brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks in transaction management. Revionics offers retail pricing optimization and analytics for global chains, such as Home Depot. Pros claims to deliver AI-driven pricing solutions to clients including Nestlé, HP, and United Airlines and is a technology partner of Microsoft.
The FTC aims to clarify this “opaque market,” which categorizes consumers and sets targeted prices for products and services. FTC Chair Lina Khan expressed concern over privacy risks linked to personal data collection. She stated, “Firms that harvest Americans’ personal data can put people’s privacy at risk. Now firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices.” The inquiry is intended to illuminate the hidden dynamics of pricing practices among businesses.
The FTC is focusing on four main areas: the types of surveillance pricing services offered by each company, data collection methods, customer and sales information, and the influence of these practices on consumer pricing.