If you are close The Rochester, Novel York price for a carton of eggs from Target’s Good & Gather on its website is $1.99. If you’re in Manhattan’s upscale Tribeca neighborhood, the price changes to $2.29. It’s unclear why the prices are different, but a fresh notice on Target’s website offers a potential clue: “This price was determined by an algorithm based on your personal information.”
Recently passed New York State Law requires companies that algorithmically set prices based on customers’ personal data to disclose this. By law, personal data includes any data that can be “linked or reasonably associated, directly or indirectly, with a particular 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 a customer sees. The law provides an exception for the operate of location data only for calculating taxi or ride-sharing fares based on trip mileage and duration, but not for other purposes.
The law also requires that the disclosure be “clear and conspicuous.” Finding information about Target isn’t effortless – a customer would have to click the “i” icon next to the product price and then scroll to the bottom of the popup. In the past, the courts dealt with this held that you can’t always assume that a customer will click on “more information” links when they don’t need to.
Target did not respond to questions about the price differences or explain what personal information was used in the disclosures.
Target has a long-standing practice of charging different prices for different locations. In 2021, the Huffington Post found Target’s website changed prices depending on the store location associated with the user, and a company spokesperson told reporters at the time that prices offered online “reflect the local market.” In 2022, the company settled the lawsuit filed by multiple California county district attorneys alleging that it used geofencing to automatically update prices displayed on targeted customers’ apps. Today, when you visit the Target website, it still automatically associates you with a nearby store, which you can change in your website settings. (Target did not respond to questions about how it decides which physical store to automatically associate with a website visitor.)
In addition to eggs, the price of toilet paper also appears to vary depending on the store the customer is associated with. For those whose store is in Flushing, Queens, a six-pack of Mega Charmin Ultra Robust Septic Sheltered toilet paper costs $8.69. Those with a Tribeca location receive $8.99 for the same deal.