TRENTON, NEW JERSEY — Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation prohibiting grocery retailers from using customers’ personal information to charge different prices for identical products.
The Fair Price Protection Act targets “surveillance pricing,” in which businesses use data such as browsing activity, location and purchase history to estimate what individual shoppers may be willing to pay. New Jersey is the third state to adopt such a restriction, following Maryland and Connecticut.
The law applies to retail food stores and third-party grocery delivery platforms. Traditional loyalty programs, discounts and promotional offers remain permitted, provided they do not use protected personal data to impose individualized prices.
Sherrill said families already facing higher living costs should not be secretly charged more than other customers for the same groceries. Supporters argue the law establishes basic pricing fairness while limiting how artificial intelligence and consumer-tracking systems can influence essential purchases.
The measure also imposes a one-year pause on installing new electronic shelf labels while the New Jersey Innovation Authority studies their potential effects on shoppers and workers. Retailers may continue using, repairing or replacing systems already in place.
Labor advocates welcomed the temporary restriction, while retailers are likely to scrutinize how the state defines personal data and enforces the new pricing rules.
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