FTC Seeks Pricing Data From Walmart Uber and Seven Others

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking detailed information from Walmart, Uber and seven other companies to investigate how businesses use personal data to determine individualized prices, wages and job offers. A senior FTC official told Reuters on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that the agency wants to understand whether companies use information such as consumers' locations, browsing histories and incomes to make these decisions.

The inquiry comes ahead of next week's U.S. congressional elections, as voters continue to identify the cost of living as their most important concern. According to the FTC, the information gathered will support a future study intended to help regulators and lawmakers assess personalized pricing and wage-setting practices.

The agency is seeking comprehensive details about the tools, strategies and data companies use, as well as their effects on prices, wages and employment offers. The findings are intended to address the difficulty of identifying personalized pricing practices when different consumers may receive different prices for the same products or services.

Advances in algorithmic pricing, including technologies that incorporate artificial intelligence, have raised concerns that businesses can use individual consumer information to determine the highest prices each shopper might be willing to pay.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has warned that personalized pricing could violate consumer protection laws when consumers do not expect businesses to use the practice. He has also indicated that companies should anticipate enforcement when their practices cross legal boundaries.

The FTC's investigation follows growing legislative efforts at the state level to restrict personalized pricing and the use of algorithms to tailor wages for individual workers. These initiatives have expanded in recent years as policymakers examine how data-driven decision-making affects consumers and employees.

The National Retail Federation has criticized such restrictions, defending retailers' use of consumer data to provide discounts as a way to encourage customer loyalty. The debate centers on how businesses use personal information to adjust prices and offers, and whether those practices require additional safeguards.

Public feedback has also highlighted opposition to the practice. After the FTC invited public comments, hundreds of respondents called on the agency to prohibit personalized pricing outright.

However, the FTC has stated that it lacks the authority to impose a blanket ban on the practice. The agency's planned study will instead provide information intended to inform future regulatory and legislative decisions about individualized pricing and wage-setting methods.