Maryland is set to be the first state to ban dynamic pricing at grocery stores

Anyone who’s attempted to score seats at the World Cup, or tickets to a number of major concerts, or just tried to hail an Uber at rush hour will know how dynamic pricing models can convert demand surges into sky-high prices.

But while bookings giants like Live Nation Ticketmaster have recently been scrutinized for deploying dynamic price algorithms in their ticketing systems, many companies, from airlines to fast food, are still trying to reap the benefits of changeable price tags.

Now, some US retailers are introducing the models into grocery stores, carried out via electronic shelf labels that allow for instantaneous in-store price changes based on factors like inventories, demand, the time of day, the weather, and even data about the consumers themselves.

(One example of how this pricing model might work: the cost of a piece of fruit you’ve bought versus another shopper’s piece of fruit may not necessarily be an apples-to-apples comparison within the exact same store, on the exact same day.)

Grocer interest

Supermarkets such as Walmart, Kroger, and Whole Foods are already using digital shelf labels to adjust product costs (though Walmart has asserted that these are “unrelated to dynamic pricing”). In response to the trend, the state of Maryland announced the Protection from Predatory Pricing Act back in January, which was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore on Monday.

As well as ensuring on-shelf prices stay steady for at least one business day, the first-of-its-kind legislation will prohibit retailers from using surveillance data, including inferred income and ethnicity, to determine prices — something that Americans object to far more strongly than when dynamic pricing is based on purchasing behavior alone.

According to a recent survey conducted by Morning Consult, at least half of US adults said that inputs that are traditionally factored into fee setting — specifically, customer demand (53%), competitor prices (52%), and how far in advance the purchase is happening (50%) — were reasonable grounds to adjust prices. However, identity-based factors like race, gender, and age, which may be used to discriminate against customers, were considered to be unreasonable by a majority of respondents.

Maryland’s pricing law, which is expected to come into effect Oct. 1, 2026, will see first offenders incur fines of up to $10,000, going up to $25,000 for repeat offenses. In the grand scheme of grocery sales for big names like Walmart, though, this could easily be made up by the offending item alone. Per Quartz reporting, Governor Moore himself cited a Consumer Reports investigation that found shoppers paid prices differing by up to 23% for the same items bought at the same moment.

Pocket changes

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll published yesterday found that American shoppers are struggling with rising costs more than ever: 55% of respondents said their financial situation is getting worse — the highest level seen in 25 years — while 31% of Americans listed the high cost of living as the most important financial problem they face today.