The basics:

• Bill banning surveillance pricing heads to Gov. Sherrill
• Measure prohibits AI-driven grocery pricing based on personal data
• Includes 1-year moratorium on new electronic shelf labels
• Supporters cite consumer protection; business groups raise concerns

After winning approval from both chambers, the state Legislature sent a bill that would ban surveillance pricing in New Jersey to Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

The Fair Price Protection Act would make it illegal under the state Consumer Fraud Act to use any pricing strategy that determines the cost of groceries and other food products based on consumers’ personal data, including biometric, genetic and protected class information.

The measure would also bar third-party delivery platforms from using consumer surveillance data to charge different prices to different shoppers for the same products, according to the bill.

However, it would not prevent food stores from providing consumers with discounts from a promotional price; benefits from a loyalty program; or offering different prices to broadly defined groups, such as teachers, veterans or senior citizens.

Sticker shock

Breaking the law could lead to fines as high as $50,000. Offenders could also incur Consumer Fraud Act violations of up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for any subsequent offense, the legislation says.

Additionally, the bill would establish a one-year moratorium on the installation of new electronic shelving labels. Businesses that already use ESLs would be allowed to continue their use.

The state would then conduct a study to determine the ESL’s impact on surveillance pricing. And if they are compliant with the Consumer Fraud Act.

As written, the law would go into effect one year after enactment.

‘A modern form of consumer fraud’

State Sens. Joe Cryan, D-20th District, and Joe Lagana, D-38th District, sponsored the proposal. Assembly members Rosaura Bagolie, D-27th District; Annette Quijano, D-27th District; and Chigozie Onyema, D-28th District, backed companion legislation.

It passed June 30 with a 22-14 vote in the state Senate and a 51-20-1 vote in the state Assembly.

Consumers are being hurt at a time when families are already struggling to pay their bills.
– Sen. Joe Cryan, D-20th District

Cryan described surveillance pricing as “an abuse of modern technology where artificial intelligence is used to set different prices for different customers.”

“Consumers are being hurt at a time when families are already struggling to pay their bills. They should be protected from the intrusive use of algorithms, personal data and other technologies to exploit their food purchases or individual characteristics,” he went on.

Lagana added, “Surveillance pricing isn’t innovation at its finest, but a modern form of consumer fraud that quietly manipulates prices based on a customer’s private online behavior. At a time when families are already struggling with the rising cost of basic necessities, the Fair Price Protection Act will put a stop to these deceptive practices and ensure businesses treat shoppers equally, without weaponizing their own personal data against them.”

Starting a trend

If signed into law, New Jersey would join Maryland and Connecticut as the first states in the U.S. to prohibit personalized pricing for groceries. Other states, such as California, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, are considering similar legislation.

Surveillance pricing came under fire in December 2025 following an investigation by Consumer Reports. The study found that third-party grocery delivery platform Instacart used an AI-driven algorithm to charge separate customers different prices for identical products from the same store based on analysis of their personal information.

Since then, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th District, has launched an inquiry into whether major retailers, grocery stores and pharmacies use AI algorithms to charge certain customers more based on their personal data.

There are currently no federal regulations regarding surveillance pricing practices.

Checked out

In New Jersey, the Fair Price Protection Act has received mixed feedback.

Sherrill has taken aim at surveillance pricing and pledged to move a ban forward as part of her affordability agenda. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill.

Six locals within the United Food and Commercial Workers and two locals in the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union celebrated the passage of the bill in New Jersey.

In a joint statement, the eight union presidents said, “With costs continuing to rise, the last thing consumers need is price gouging at the grocery store. This legislation will protect families across New Jersey from having their personal data used against them to squeeze every cent they have. Our state has taken a stand and made history with this legislation.”

“We applaud the Senate and Assembly for their work on this issue, and we thank Senate President [Nicholas] Scutari, Speaker [Craig] Coughlin, Senator Cryan, and Assemblyman Onyema, who championed this bill to protect consumers and grocery workers. We look forward to Gov. Sherrill signing this bill into law,” they said.

Where’s the loyalty?

Following the votes in Trenton, the New Jersey State Assembly GOP posted a statement on social media. “Another day, another law with unintended consequences … Retailers warn it could eliminate loyalty programs because of new limits on using consumer data for discounts. Democrats say everything’s fine. Kiss your ShopRite PricePlus card good-bye,” the group wrote.

A coalition of New Jersey business groups has also opposed the proposals, including:

• Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey
• New Jersey Business & Industry Association
• New Jersey Food Council
• New Jersey Retail Merchants Association
• New Jersey Chamber of Commerce

The collective has raised concerns the measure “casts such a wide net that it could wipe out the personalized discounts, loyalty rewards and tailored promotions that Garden State shoppers count on to make ends meet.”

The group also feels the measure is written so broadly that it could fail to protect the very tools that provide coupons for seniors, students, families and shoppers on fixed incomes. They argue that personalized pricing tools, such as discounts and rewards, are transparent and consumer-driven. Meanwhile, surveillance pricing is hidden and non-consensual, they say.

The group also warns that regulating these practices could push retailers toward a single uniform pricing model that eliminates personalization and potentially results in higher baseline prices for all consumers.