FTC Orders Walmart, Uber, Delta to Disclose Data on Personalized Pricing

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered nine major American companies, including Walmart, Uber, and Delta Air Lines, to provide detailed information on their use of personalized pricing and wage-setting practices. The move, confirmed by a senior FTC official to Reuters, signals heightened regulatory scrutiny over how corporations leverage consumer data.

Probe Targets Retail, Travel, and Gig Economy

The FTC's demand for information targets a cross-section of the U.S. economy. According to the official, the companies receiving orders are:

• Retail: Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT)
• Airlines: Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Airlines (UAL), and JetBlue (JBLU)
• Gig Economy: Uber (UBER), Lyft (LYFT), DoorDash (DASH), and Instacart (CART)

The agency is seeking comprehensive data on whether and how these firms use personal information—such as a consumer's location, browsing history, and income—to individually tailor prices, job offers, and wages.

Scrutiny Over Algorithmic Pricing

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The FTC plans to use the collected information to publish a study aimed at informing regulators and lawmakers. The probe addresses growing concerns that advanced algorithmic and AI-powered tools allow companies to set prices on an individual basis to extract the maximum price a shopper is willing to pay.

Because these personalized pricing strategies serve different prices to different people, they are difficult to observe externally. The FTC study aims to fill this knowledge gap by demanding details on the tools, data, and strategies companies use and their ultimate effect on prices and wages.

Broader Regulatory Context

This federal action comes amid ongoing efforts by state lawmakers to ban personalized pricing and as the cost of living remains a key issue for voters. Industry groups like the National Retail Federation have defended data-driven discounts as a means of incentivizing customer loyalty.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has previously stated that personalized pricing could violate consumer protection laws in cases where consumers do not expect it. While hundreds of public commenters have urged the agency to ban the practice, the FTC has said it does not have the authority to issue a blanket prohibition.