All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
One Target shopper was ready to buy a couple of tops until they checked the tags — neither had a price.
In a Reddit post, they shared a photo of an A New Day clothing tag with no listed price and said the tables also had no prices posted.
“The lack of a visible price put me off entirely,” they wrote.[1]
Missing price tags don’t prove a store charges customers differently based on their personal information. But how do you know you’re getting a fair price when you can’t see what it is in the first place?
Federal regulators are asking that question, too.
On October 28, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Target, Walmart and seven other companies to provide information about whether and how they use personal data to set prices.[2]
The FTC’s inquiry also covers Delta, United, JetBlue, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart.
“Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in the agency’s announcement.
The agency wants to examine whether prices vary between people based on personal information or loyalty program participation. Companies have 45 days after receiving the orders to respond.
According to Reuters, Delta, JetBlue and Instacart said they do not engage in personalized pricing.
However, the concern isn’t purely hypothetical. A Consumer Reports investigation found that Instacart shoppers were shown prices up to 23% apart for identical items from the same store at the same time.
Instacart later ended this practice. They also said the tests were randomized, rather than based on shoppers’ personal information.
Surveillance pricing uses personal information to help determine the price or offer you see.
The goal is to “infer the highest price that the customer is willing to pay,” according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy advocacy organization.
That differs from a price that changes for everyone as demand rises. The question here is whether information about you helps shape your particular offer.
The FTC’s 2025 research into pricing intermediaries identified tools that can use location, browsing patterns, purchase history and even mouse movements or items left in an online cart to tailor prices and promotions.
The effect could also extend beyond the number on a price tag. The FTC research also showed how shopping data can influence which products appear first, potentially steering someone toward more expensive options.
So you may need to question both the price and whether cheaper choices are being pushed out of view.
Whether your price is data-driven or based on fair market value, it never hurts to shop around.
The FTC inquiry may help reveal what shoppers cannot easily check themselves: whether the price they see reflects the product, or what a company has learned about their willingness to pay.
VPN that earned the only Platinum rating in a five-way independent speed and security test by Artifact Security
Historically unlocks Netflix libraries in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia with no errors
Bundles with ad blocker, data removal, and encrypted storage for a more complete privacy setup
[1] Reddit: “A ton of the women’s clothes at Target don’t have a price listed on the tag”
[2] FTC Launches Personalized Pricing and Compensation Inquiry
/images/2023/12/05/aura-vs.-lifelock.png)
/images/2023/10/12/best_identity_theft_protection_with_dark_web_monitoring.jpg)
/images/2026/10/29/no_price_posted__target_shopper_questions_missing_prices_on_tags._are__FG8eh28.png)
/images/2026/10/28/cisa-confirms-active-php2shell-attacks.jpeg)
/images/2026/10/26/google-gmail-photos-personalized-ads.jpeg)
/images/2026/10/26/samsung-tv-privacy-tracking-risks.jpeg){kind=tracking}
/images/2026/10/23/smart-tv-tracking-privacy-opt-out.jpeg){kind=tracking}
/images/2026/10/23/hackers_changed_users_passwords_in_11.7m-account_capcom_breach.png)
/authors/thomas-kent-headshot-cropped.png){kind=small}
/authors/kalleigh-lane-new.jpg){kind=small}
/images/2022/05/26/logo-nordvpn.png){kind=logo}
/authors/thomas-kent-headshot-cropped.png)