Your data may determine how much you pay for eggs
if you are close A carton of Target’s Good & Gather eggs is listed on its website for $1.99 in Rochester, N.Y. If you’re in Manhattan’s upscale Tribeca neighborhood, that price changes to $2.29. It’s not clear why the prices are different, but a new notice on Target’s website offers a possible hint: “This price was determined by an algorithm using your personal data.”
A recently passed New York state law requires businesses that algorithmically set prices using customers’ personal information to disclose it. According to the law, personal data includes any data that can be “directly or indirectly associated or reasonably associated with a specific consumer or device.” The law does not require businesses to explicitly state what information about a person or device is used or how each piece of information affects the customer’s bottom line. The Act provides for the use of location data solely to calculate taxi or ride-sharing fares based on mileage and trip duration, but for no other purposes.
The law also requires that the disclosure be “clear and conspicuous.” Target disclosure isn’t the easiest to find – a customer should know to click on the “i” icon next to an item’s price, then scroll down to the bottom of the popup. In the past, courts have held that it is not always reasonable to assume that a customer will click on “more information” links when they are not required to.
Target did not respond to questions about the price difference or explain what personal information was used in the disclosure.
For years, Target has had a practice of setting different prices for different locations. In 2021, The Huffington Post found that Target’s website changed prices depending on the user’s associated store location, and a company spokesperson told reporters at the time that its online prices “reflect the local market.” In 2022, the company settled a lawsuit filed by several California district attorneys that alleged it used geofences to automatically update prices listed on customers’ Target apps. Today, when you visit Target’s website, it still automatically links you to a store near you, which you can change in the website’s settings. (Target did not respond to questions about how it decided which brick-and-mortar stores to automatically associate with a website visitor.)
In addition to eggs, the price of toilet paper also seems to vary based on the store the customer is associated with. For those with a store in Flushing, Queens, a six-pack of Charmin Ultra Strong Septic-Safe Mega Toilet Paper is $8.69. Those with Tribeca status are shown $8.99 for the same listing.
