City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting large grocery chains from using customer data and AI to set individualized prices. The measure follows a 2025 Consumer Reports investigation and will take effect September 1, 2027; retailers warn it could eliminate targeted discounts and raise costs.
"Safeway does not engage in the pricing practices this ordinance claims to address, yet the measure will restrict personalized deals that help customers save on groceries." Osborne said the problem with the...
"People have been clear: they don't want their data fed into algorithms that decide how much they pay at the grocery store.
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The ordinance was driven by a 2025 Consumer Reports investigation. That study had about 400 consumers shop the same basket of goods simultaneously via Instacart and found that quoted prices for the same products at the same store could differ by as much as 23%. Consumer Reports served as a technical adviser to the city while the ordinance was developed.
Mayor Katie Wilson issued a release stressing that food is essential and that shoppers should not have their data fed into algorithms that decide prices. Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck sponsored the ordinance and argued grocery corporations should not use personal information to boost profits.
Not all councilmembers supported the bill. Councilmembers Maritza Rivera and Bob Kettle voted no. Rivera said she feared the ordinance could eliminate supermarket savings programs and make groceries more expensive for the very shoppers the law aims to protect.
Supermarket chains opposed the ordinance and lobbied heavily. Safeway posted in-store notices and ran an industry-backed campaign warning the law could cost Seattle families discounts they currently receive. Safeway spokeswoman Sara Osborne stated that the chain does not engage in the pricing practices the ordinance targets and argued the law would limit personalized deals that help customers save.
Retailers' core argument is that the ordinance does not distinguish clearly between harmful price discrimination and personalized promotions that reduce prices for some shoppers. City leaders counter that opaque, data-driven pricing can harm equality and consumer privacy.
Seattle's ordinance is the first city-level ban of its kind in the United States, according to coverage cited in the reporting. It follows state-level measures addressing surveillance pricing in Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Other observers and commentators have raised questions about whether the evidence of widespread harmful surveillance pricing is conclusive and about potential side effects, such as loss of targeted savings.
Watch for the mayor's formal signature, details of how the city will define and enforce prohibited practices, and retailer responses such as changes to loyalty programs, posted notices, or legal challenges. The law's rollout and enforcement rules will determine how broadly posted prices and discount programs actually change for Seattle shoppers.
The legislation bars large grocery retailers from using people's employment status, race, gender, browser history, social media activity or chatbot conversations to set customer prices.
The city's ordinance targets price gouging that its own evidence doesn't show—and it could kill discounts that save shoppers money.
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