The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an investigation into several prominent companies regarding their use of customer data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence in individually adjusting pricing.
Eight companies from various sectors—Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, Task Software, McKinsey & Co., Revionics, Bloomreach, and Pros—received requests from the regulatory body for information on how these pricing strategies affect privacy, competition, and consumer protection.
These companies utilize data tools and a strategy known as “surveillance pricing,” or “dynamic pricing,” which allows them to present different prices for identical products based on individual customer characteristics or behaviors such as location, demographics, credit history, and previous shopping activity.
Many of the firms under scrutiny provide transaction, sales, and pricing services for some of the largest companies in the U.S. and around the world. Task Software manages transactions for major hospitality brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks. Revionics specializes in retail price optimization software, serving global chains such as Home Depot, while Pros markets itself as a provider of AI-driven pricing solutions, with clients including Nestlé, HP, and United Airlines. Additionally, it is a technology partner of Microsoft.
The FTC aims to investigate this “opaque market” where consumers are categorized and targeted with specific prices for products and services.
“Companies that gather personal data from Americans can jeopardize individuals’ privacy. They could be using this extensive personal information to impose higher prices,” stated FTC Chair Lina Khan. “Americans have a right to know if businesses are leveraging detailed consumer data to implement surveillance pricing, and this inquiry will bring transparency to this hidden network of pricing intermediaries.”
The FTC’s investigation will focus on four main areas: the types of surveillance pricing products and services offered by each company, their data collection methods, customer and sales information, and how these surveillance techniques affect the prices customers pay.