The US Federal Trade Commission has ordered nine companies across the airline, ride-sharing and food-delivery sectors to provide information for an inquiry into personalised pricing and compensation practices.
The investigation could matter beyond the businesses directly involved. As grocery shopping and food delivery become increasingly connected through apps, retailers and technology partners face questions about how prices and offers are presented to individual customers.
Digital platforms can use information about shopping behaviour, location and purchasing history to tailor promotions. The commercial question is where personalised marketing ends and pricing practices become difficult for customers to understand.
The FTC’s inquiry is intended to gather information; it is not, by itself, a finding that the companies involved have broken the law.
For supermarket groups expanding online ordering and delivery, the development is a reason to review how digital promotions are explained, how customer data is used and whether different offers can be clearly justified.
Price transparency has traditionally been judged at the shelf and checkout. In digital grocery, the customer journey starts earlier, often with a personalised screen or promotion.
Retailers may increasingly need to demonstrate not only that a price is correct, but also that the way it is presented to customers is clear and defensible.
