Seattle leaders are pushing for the city council to ban grocery stores from using shoppers' personal data to alter the prices they are offered.
Mayor Katie Wilson joined councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dionne Foster to bring forward a proposal that would bar large grocery store chains from using “algorithmic-based price discrimination” to offer different prices to patrons for the same products.
“This policy stops corporations from using personal data to squeeze more money out of shoppers,” Wilson said in a news release. “Businesses are free to set their prices in a fair and transparent manner. The same product, in the same store, should cost the same no matter who’s pushing the cart.”
The proposed ordinance would apply to chains that have more than 20 locations globally, such as Safeway, QFC and Target. It would apply to both online shopping services and in-person locations. It requires prices to be clearly posted and would bar grocers from using personal data to offer individualized prices to customers for food items and other products.
Kerem Levitas, a senior policy advisor to the mayor, explained the proposal to the council’s Human Services, Labor, & Economic Development Committee earlier this month. He said companies collect a wide range of data with customer loyalty cards and other mechanisms.
“That includes demographic information, financial data, like income levels and debt, and your interactions with browsers and search engines,” he said. “That allows companies to identify an individual's pain point or the maximum price that a consumer will pay.”
Officials say these safeguards are in response to reports of tools being developed for grocery stores and other shopping services that could allow retailers to analyze data and offer custom prices. For instance, a 2025 investigation by Consumer Reports showed how Instacart, the grocery delivery service, was experimenting with AI to set prices.
Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel for the American Economic Liberties Project, explained that this kind of price discrimination can manifest at stores offering a range of discounts to shoppers for the same products.
“If 10 consumers are offered 10 different prices between $10 and $20, is the one person who pays $19 receiving a discount because it's lower than $20?” he said. “I think that that person might be surprised to know that eight other consumers are paying a lower price for the same good or service.”
A number of people testified to the committee in support of the legislation. But some industry groups opposed it.
“Retailers operating in Seattle have been clear that they do not engage in that practice,” Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Lars Erickson told the committee. “The evidence presented today will not prove otherwise. Price variation is not proof of surveillance pricing.”
Grocery store proponents worry the current version of this legislation is too broad and would threaten coupons, discounts and loyalty programs currently offered to customers.
“The ordinance currently before you works against the council's goals to make Seattle more affordable,” said Amanda Dalton, president of the Northwest Grocery Retail Association. “The ordinance should be carefully crafted so it does not unintentionally restrict the discounts and rewards programs that help families, renters, your neighbors, and constituents.”
However, according to a news release from the mayor’s office, conventional coupons and discount programs for groups like seniors and veterans would be allowed under the change.
The Human Services, Labor, & Economic Committee is still assessing the proposed ordinance.
