57 • September | October 2026 • abasto.com thms at a time when families are al- ready stretched to the limit. This tension between retailers and labor advocates is not unique to New Jersey. It is emerging as the central debate over supermarket technology nationwide. New Jersey Joins a Short But Growing List Maryland passed the first state-level ban on surveillance pricing in April, though experts pointed out legal loo- pholes that could hinder its enforce- ment. Connecticut followed suit in June. New Jersey is now the third sta- te, and its law goes further than the previous ones by combining the pri- cing ban with a requirement to pause electronic price tags. New York, for its part, already re- quires companies to disclose when a price was set by an algorithm—a transparency rule that, according to Gizmodo, helped expose surveillan- ce pricing practices in a major news- paper’s subscription service. That state’s legislature has already passed a stricter ban, which is awaiting the governor’s signature. The momentum is also growing beyond state legislatures. More than 50 bills on algorithmic pricing have been introduced in 26 states, and U.S. Representative Frank Pallone has launched an investigation to de- termine whether large retail chains and pharmacies employ similar da- ta-driven pricing tactics. New Jersey’s Fair Price Protection Act takes effect in mid-2027, giving retailers time to review how they co- llect and use customer data. For now, loyalty cards, coupons, and seasonal promotions remain unchanged.