Analysis Group Authors Discuss Regulatory and Economic Perspectives on So-Called Surveillance Pricing in CPI Antitrust Chronicle
July 23, 2025
Companies across industries are increasingly relying on algorithms and large quantities of user data to tailor pricing and product offerings to individual consumers, a practice often described by regulators as “surveillance pricing.” Regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), have raised concerns about whether surveillance pricing practices could result in inappropriate price discrimination or facilitate price coordination among competitors.
In an article published in CPI Antitrust Chronicle, Analysis Group Managing Principal Rebecca Kirk Fair and Managers Alvaro Ziadi and Juan Carvajal examine recent regulatory scrutiny of these pricing practices and economic findings on their potential risks and benefits. While economists have shown that offering different prices based on consumers’ willingness to pay can improve firm efficiency and consumer access to goods and services, regulatory concern has prompted questions about the potential for disparities in how surveillance pricing impacts consumers as well as consumers’ ability to meaningfully consent to pricing practices, particularly when they lack information about how their data is being used and how it influences the prices they see. The authors conclude by emphasizing the need for further empirical research to guide regulatory interventions and public policy: “[f]uture research should aim to measure the real-world impact of these models on consumer welfare, competitive dynamics, and equity.”