Maryland to become first state to ban 'dynamic pricing' in grocery stores

4/22/2026 at 8:05:40 PM

Meanwhile in the EU every price tag for a discounted item needs to also show the lowest price that was available in the last 30 days.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/unfair-treat...

by weezing

4/22/2026 at 10:32:48 PM

I've not seen that here in Denmark? Usually just discounted price+price by weight/item/volume, and 'regular' price and regular price by weight/item/volume

by RugnirViking

4/23/2026 at 5:28:24 AM

I think the law does not specify how the previously used prices are supposed to be displayed. In Germany grocery stores used to display it in the smallest possible font in a foot note.

They got sued, lost, and now they have to display it more transparently. Absent of EU specifics about how such prices have to be displayed, national courts can make their own rulings based on their national law.

by umpalumpaaa

4/22/2026 at 10:05:34 PM

I theory I think dynamic pricing in grocery stores is allowed in EU but not sure if actually used.

by victorbjorklund

4/23/2026 at 5:33:48 PM

I have yet to be given a good reason for banning this sort of pricing model.

To me it feels like a win/win for all parties involved. Faster, more accurate price discovery means fewer instances of an item being out of stock, and it allows a merchant to unload less popular stock at a discount to a lucky (or clever) customer.

The arguments against this seem mostly feelings based.

by tt24

4/22/2026 at 10:36:51 PM

If they can figure out how to make price tags that show different prices to different people, they should be targeting to display different images to each eye and selling it as glasses-free 3D.

by dlcarrier

4/22/2026 at 7:25:56 PM

>> “Digital price tags are replacing paper ones… cameras are watching aisles… apps are moving from search-based to predictive and having true curated experiences that end up harming the average shopper,” Moore said during testimony last month. “If Myles [a member of Moore’s staff] and I were to go in a supermarket at the same time… we could pick up the exact same item and be charged a different price for it, because they know that I’ll pay it. This type of manipulation of data is not fair.”

But that's not how that works at all? If Myles and Moore were staring at the same electronic price tag, they'd be displaying the same price. I wish these legislators would stop parroting lies given to them by the UFCW who is mad that electronic price tags will "replace clerk work" not understanding that the employees should and can be upskilled to replace tags, batteries, and manage the tags including linking them to home locations and signaling them for product updates?

You want real dynamic pricing, a good example? Go call up an auto parts store, asking for a part for your vehicle. There's a list price you're going to be sold over the counter, meanwhile Jim down the street at Jim's Auto will be quoted a cheaper price than you, meanwhile the guy at the parts counter is staring at a screen showing them the company's own cost is even lower than both of those and they get to play "how much do we screw the guy on the other side".

by kotaKat

4/22/2026 at 8:19:27 PM

>But that's not how that works at all

Good! Let's keep it that way.

by unethical_ban

4/22/2026 at 9:08:36 PM

Maybe. When you sign up for Amazon Prime, you see lower prices on some products when you're logged into that account. Same with Costco, if you have a membership, you see lower prices on some products in their app.

I worry that rather than "fixing a problem" that may not exist, this creates a new problem.

by Schiendelman

4/22/2026 at 10:52:20 PM

Sometimes I get a flyer in the mail for grocery discounts. That's not the targeted surveillance pricing being discussed.

by unethical_ban

4/22/2026 at 10:50:43 PM

Look at how PSN is doing dynamic pricing for their games. That's what this is trying to prevent in grocery stores.

by fzeroracer

4/22/2026 at 10:29:30 PM

You haven't actually rebutted the statement at all. Do you have any proof or rationale for this statement, or are you simply assuming that retailers don't do this?

And your example does not illustrate dynamic pricing at all. There's nothing dynamic about your example, this is all fixed prices quoted by merchants with different costs and profit margins. This is how trade has worked for approximately all of human history.

Dynamic pricing means that the price changes dynamically, in real time. Prices change based on time of day, weather, how many people are in line, what the merchant's algorithm thinks you personally are willing to pay. This is all new, enabled exclusively by modern computing and surveillance technology.

I don't think you actually understand what you're arguing against here.

by estimator7292