The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), the largest food retail union in the United States, is urging newly elected Democratic lawmakers to back limits on electronic shelf labels and pricing based on personal data. The union says the practices could affect both grocery affordability and retail jobs; retailers argue digital labels make price changes more efficient and accurate.
UFCW urges lawmakers to curb two pricing practices
The UFCW represents more than 1.2 million workers. In a statement congratulating candidates backed by labor groups on their midterm election wins, the union called on lawmakers to prevent grocery stores from adopting electronic shelf labels and pricing based on consumer data.
UFCW President Milton Jones said lawmakers should ban surveillance-based pricing and electronic shelf labels in grocery stores, arguing that such restrictions would protect consumers from unfair corporate pricing. The union has tied its campaign to food affordability and the preservation of retail jobs.
FTC seeks pricing data from major grocery chains
Retailers including Walmart and Kroger have been replacing paper shelf tags with digital labels that can be updated remotely. That removes the need to change tags one by one. The technology has drawn increased attention this year, with debate focusing on how retailers use consumer data and whether digital labels could lead to more frequent price changes.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission said it had asked several large grocery chains to provide detailed reports on their pricing practices. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said consumers have a right to know whether companies use web-browsing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price an individual shopper might accept.
New Jersey and Maryland have taken different approaches
Some states have already moved to restrict aspects of these practices. New Jersey banned surveillance-based pricing this year and imposed a one-year pause on electronic shelf labels. Maryland, meanwhile, requires retailers to keep prices unchanged for at least one business day.
The measures do not cover identical ground: some target the use of personal information to set prices, while others address how often prices can change or whether electronic labels may be used. The FTC's request for company data has brought the use of consumer information in pricing into federal scrutiny as well.
Walmart and Target reject personal-data price hikes
Retailers defend the tools as a way to reduce labor-intensive work and pricing errors, and say their pricing remains fair and transparent. Walmart and Target each said last month that they do not use personal information to charge consumers higher prices and do not plan to do so.
Both companies still offer personalized discounts through promotions and loyalty programs. Electronic shelf labels, data-driven pricing and member offers involve different pricing mechanisms. The union's demands, state rules and information now being gathered by the FTC have put how retailers set and display prices at the center of a policy debate.