Resolution Targeting Digital Pricing Technology Defeated

By Brennan Duckett

On Monday, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) considered and ultimately defeated a resolution, “Supporting Price Transparency, Consumer Privacy and Fairness in the Grocery Retail Marketplace,” in its Banking, Financial Services and Insurance Committee that could have led to a future endorsement of legislation limiting the use of digital pricing technology in retail around the country. 

The resolution hinged on the faulty premise that digital pricing technologies, such as electronic shelf labels, contain privacy-invasive capabilities to adjust prices based on consumers’ personal data. 

NACS submitted a letter to the Committee opposing the adoption of the resolution because it mistakenly grouped a wide variety of emerging technologies together under one umbrella and deemed them a collective threat to consumers.

The letter further objected to the resolution’s call for federal government intervention in this space, which could result in sweeping new restrictions that would eliminate discounting and undermine affordability.

State Associations representing the convenience industry, along with representatives on the Committee, were critical in securing votes against the resolution. Particular thanks in this effort are due to our partners in Utah, Kentucky and Massachusetts, among others, who participated in the effort. 

While NACS is not a member of NCSL, NACS teamed up with retail allies who were leading the fight against the resolution at the Conference directly and were ultimately successful in defeating the measure. 

NACS will continue to work with our retail partners to ensure that the members of the BFSI, and the rest of NCSL, are properly educated on the benefits and limits of digital pricing and other emerging retail technologies.