If you are near Rochester, New York, Target’s Good & Gather egg carton is listed for $1.99 on its website. If you’re in Manhattan’s upscale Tribeca neighborhood, that price increases to $2.29. It’s unclear why the prices differ, but a new notice on Target’s website offers a potential clue: “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.” »
A recently enacted law in New York State requires companies that set prices algorithmically using customers’ personal data to disclose it. According to the law, personal data includes any data that can be “linked or reasonably linked, directly or indirectly, to a specific consumer or device.” The law does not require companies to explicitly state what information about a person or device is used or how each piece of information affects the final price seen by the customer. The law includes an exclusion for using location data only to calculate taxi or rideshare fares based on mileage and trip duration, but not for other purposes.
The law also requires that disclosure be “clear and conspicuous.” Target’s disclosure isn’t the easiest to find: A customer should know to click the “i” icon next to an item’s price, then scroll to the bottom of the pop-up. In the past, courts have ruled that it is not always reasonable to assume that a customer will click on “more information” links when this is not necessary.
Target did not answer questions about the price differences or explain what personal data was used in accordance with the disclosures.
For years, Target has had a history of setting different prices for different locations. In 2021, the Huffington Post discovered that Target’s website changed prices based on the location of a user’s associated store, and a company spokesperson told reporters at the time that its online prices “reflect the local market.” In 2022, the company settled a lawsuit brought by several California county prosecutors who alleged it used geofencing to automatically update prices listed in customers’ Target apps. Today, when you visit Target’s website, it always automatically matches you to a nearby store, which you can change in the website’s settings. (Target did not respond to questions about how it decided which physical store to automatically associate with a website visitor.)
Besides eggs, the price of toilet paper also seems to change depending on which store the customer is associated with. For those whose store is located in Flushing, Queens, a six-pack of Mega Charmin Ultra Strong Septic-Safe Toilet Paper costs $8.69. Those with the Tribeca location receive $8.99 for the same ad.
