The New Jersey Legislature has passed the Fair Price Protection Act, sending the bill to Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who has indicated she will sign it into law.
Once signed, New Jersey will become the third state in the country to prohibit personalized pricing for groceries, following Maryland and Connecticut.
The legislation, which combines Senate Bill S3612 and Assembly Bill A4523, makes it an unlawful practice under the state’s consumer fraud act for a retail food store or third-party grocery delivery platform to use “personalized algorithmic pricing,” “surveillance pricing” or any pricing strategy that determines or varies the price of groceries based on personal data. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 22-14 and the Assembly by 51-20.
What the bill prohibits
The law defines “surveillance pricing” broadly as any action taken to price groceries using an algorithm or automated system that relies on personal data such as browsing history, real-time location, inferred family size, or income. The prohibition covers both in-store and online grocery sales, including third-party delivery platforms.
Specifically, the bill prohibits using:
- Personal data to determine or vary sale prices for individual consumers or groups;
- Electronic shelving labels connected to personalized algorithmic or surveillance pricing; and
- Location data to infer a consumer’s identity, permanent residence, or protected class status when setting prices
What it allows
The legislation includes several exemptions to ensure legitimate discounts and promotions remain available:
- Reasonable cost differences – Prices may vary based on actual costs associated with providing groceries to different customers;
- Bona fide discounts – Discounts offered to clearly defined groups (such as teachers or veterans) that are uniformly available to all eligible members; and
- Loyalty programs – Coupons, point-based rewards, and other loyalty benefits offered to individual customers based on their purchase history.
The bill also clarifies that “location” data cannot be used to profile consumers, but does allow retailers to use location data to fulfill orders, calculate operational costs or assess local supply and demand conditions.
Enforcement and penalties
The New Jersey Attorney General may bring civil actions to enforce the law, seeking actual monetary damages or $50,000 per violation – whichever is greater – as well as restitution, penalties and other relief. Additionally:
- First offenses are punishable by fines up to $10,000, with subsequent offenses up to $20,000;
- Violations may result in cease-and-desist orders, punitive damages, and treble damages awarded to injured parties
- Consumers may also bring private legal action
The law also includes a one-year moratorium on the use of electronic shelf labels, which critics argue allow for easier dynamic price changes.
Industry voices concern over impact
The New Jersey Food Council, which represents grocery retailers across the state, expressed concern that the bill’s broad language could eliminate personalized coupons and loyalty rewards that many shoppers rely on to stretch their budgets.
While the organization stands with the administration in efforts to address hidden pricing, it argues that the legislation overreaches by lumping “surveillance pricing” – hidden price hikes consumers cannot see or avoid – together with customized coupons that shoppers choose to receive and that directly lower what they pay for products.
“Shoppers will feel the pinch of newly passed legislation that doesn’t make grocery prices fairer; it just makes them higher in New Jersey,” said Linda Doherty, president and CEO of the NJFC. “This over-reaching bill claws away personalized coupons and loyalty rewards that families, students, seniors and shoppers on fixed incomes use to stretch their grocery budgets.”
Doherty noted that New Jersey already has strong consumer protections, including price gouging laws, unit pricing rules, and advertising standards. “In this economy, families are already stretched thin; this legislation just makes it worse,” she said.
About
The Fair Price Protection Act was sponsored by Assemblyman Chigozie Onyema and Senator Joseph Lagana, among others. The bill was introduced in March 2026, advanced through committee, and passed both chambers June 30. Other states, including New York, California and Illinois, are considering similar legislation.