The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered nine companies to provide information about how they set prices for consumers and, in some cases, determine pay for gig workers. The companies named are Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart. The FTC wants to study whether prices or compensation for the same product or service vary between people based on personal data or other factors, including participation in loyalty programs.
The orders are part of a market study under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act. The commission says this authority allows it to conduct broad studies without a specific law enforcement purpose. The announcement is an information-gathering inquiry, not a finding that any of the nine companies broke the law.
Newsweek has requested comment from the FTC and the nine companies named in the inquiry via email outside office hours. The FTC named three airlines: Delta, United and JetBlue; two ride-share companies: Lyft and Uber; two food-delivery companies: DoorDash and Instacart; and two retailers: Target and Walmart. The inquiry covers more than the price customers see.
For ride-share and delivery services, the FTC is also examining how companies calculate worker compensation. The agency says offers to drivers may vary according to opaque formulas, potentially involving information such as phone usage or a driver’s history of accepting previous offers. The FTC has asked the companies to document the inputs, tools and procedures they use to set or adjust consumer prices and worker compensation.
Each company has 45 days from receiving its order to respond. The commission says it can ask a federal court to compel compliance if a company fails to provide the required information. Personalized pricing generally means setting different prices for different customers based on information about them or their behavior.
That could include online activity, purchase history or loyalty-program participation. It is distinct from some familiar forms of price variation. Prices can change because of a sale, time of day, location, demand or the cost of providing a service.
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