The Fair Price Protection Act, signed by New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill last week, protects consumers by banning surveillance pricing in grocery stores. It also places a moratorium on electronic shelf labels (ESLs) in grocery stores across the state.
In support of the groundbreaking legislation, UFCW International Vice President Ademola Oyefeso said, “By signing the Fair Price Protection Act into law, Governor Sherrill has declared that price gouging on groceries has no place in New Jersey and that stopping electronic shelf labels is a key component in this fight. New Jersey leaders see ESLs for what they are: a tool to hike prices.
“As large grocery chains across the country rush to outfit their stores with this technology, we commend New Jersey lawmakers for their leadership on this issue. We hope this law will serve as a catalyst for states across the country to shield shoppers from AI-driven predatory pricing and protect good, union grocery jobs.”
New Jersey is among 12 states that have joined the UFCW’s “Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign” to ban the predatory practice of surveillance pricing, target the encroachment of AI-driven technology in grocery stores, and deliver fair prices for families while preserving good, union grocery jobs. New Jersey’s legislation is the strongest effort to date.
ESLs enable retailers to change prices instantaneously, and corporations are racing to deploy them. Walmart, for example, plans to replace traditional paper price tags with digital ones across all of its stores by the end of 2026. The corporation also recently secured patents to use shoppers’ personal data to update prices at scale.
This technology also threatens the livelihoods of grocery workers. These systems could replace the skilled work of grocery clerks or, at the very least, leave them to explain a company’s actions to rightfully angry shoppers. The UFCW represents more than 800,000 grocery workers across North America. These workers are essential to keeping our communities fed, and they know how disruptive ESLs could be for employees and shoppers alike.