Title
Authorizing the Committee on Technology and Information Services to hold hearings to examine the use of emerging technologies, including surveillance, algorithmic, and dynamic pricing systems, in the grocery industry to better understand how these technologies are being utilized and their potential impacts for consumers and retailers, and to examine opportunities to support transparency, affordability, and consumer confidence.
Body
WHEREAS, Philadelphia residents and businesses continue to navigate changing costs throughout the food system, making the affordability, accessibility, and transparency of grocery prices important issues for Philadelphia residents and businesses; and
WHEREAS, Advances in data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, electronic shelf labels, and other technologies are creating new opportunities for grocery retailers to manage inventory and to respond to changing market conditions; and
WHEREAS, As these advances in technology continue to change the way goods are priced and sold, businesses are increasingly able to use consumer data, automated systems, and real-time market information to inform pricing decisions; and
WHEREAS, This includes the potential use of surveillance pricing, which uses information about consumers and their purchasing behavior to inform prices or promotions; the use of algorithmic pricing, which uses automated systems and data-driven models to determine or recommend prices; and the use of dynamic pricing, which allows prices to change over time in response to factors such as supply, demand, inventory, or other market conditions; and
WHEREAS, The growing use of these technologies raises important questions about how prices are determined, what information is used in pricing decisions, how frequently prices may change, and how consumers can best understand the prices they are offered; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia residents continue to face significant increases in the cost of groceries and othe...
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