FTC proposes enforcement policy requiring disclosure of personalized pricing practices and data use

The FTC announced an enforcement policy on Aug. 19, 2026, targeting personalized pricing—the use of customer data to set individual prices—under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices. Rather than banning the practice, the policy mandates transparency: sellers must disclose when a price was personalized, explain why, and detail which data types were used. The requirement extends to first-party data collected directly from customers, and businesses using data from third parties may need to verify explicit consumer consent for pricing use. The FTC distinguished personalized pricing from dynamic pricing (like airline or rideshare surge pricing) and cited vulnerable scenarios warranting scrutiny—emergency purchases, time-sensitive needs, and location-based shopping. Implementation presents a challenge for retailers, as MarTech notes, since many lack the data governance and orchestration systems needed to execute transparent personalization at scale. Public comment on the proposed policy closes Sept. 25, 2026.