Your data may determine how much you pay for eggs

If you are near Rochester, N.Y., Target’s Good & Gather egg carton is listed at $1.99 on its website. If you’re in the upscale Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, that price changes to $2.29. It’s unclear why the prices are different, but a new notice on Target’s website offers a possible hint: “This price was determined by an algorithm using your personal data.”

Recently released New York State law Requires companies that algorithmically set prices using customers’ personal data to disclose this. Under the law, personal data includes any data that can be “reasonably linked or linked, directly or indirectly, to an identified consumer or device.” The law does not require companies to explicitly state what information about a person or device is being used or how each piece of information affects the final price a customer sees. The law includes an exception for the use of location data strictly to calculate taxi or ride-sharing prices based on mileage and trip duration but not for other purposes.

The law also requires that the disclosure be “clear and apparent.” Target detection couldn’t be easier to find – the customer must know how to click on the “i” icon next to the price of an item, then scroll to the bottom of the pop-up window. In the past it was the courts detained It is not always reasonable to assume that a customer will click on ‘More Information’ links when this is not required.

Target did not respond to questions about the price differences or explain what personal data was used according to the disclosures.

For years, Target has had a practice of setting different prices for different locations. In 2021, the Huffington Post found Target’s website Prices have changed Depending on the location of the store the user is linked to, a company spokesperson told reporters at the time that its online prices “reflect the local market.” In 2022 the company Resolve a lawsuit It was filed by several California district attorneys who alleged that it used geofencing to automatically update prices listed on customers’ Target apps. Today, when you visit Target’s website, it still automatically connects you to a nearby store, which you can change in the website settings. (Target did not respond to questions about how it determines which physical store will be automatically linked to a website visitor.)

In addition to eggs, the price of toilet paper also seems to change depending on which store the customer is associated with. For those whose store is located in Flushing, Queens, a six-pack of extra-strength, sanitary-safe Mega Charmin toilet paper is $8.69. Those with the Tribeca location are showing $8.99 for the same menu.