New York retailers are watching a bill that would make the state the first in the nation to ban electronic shelf labels in grocery and drug stores, along with the broader practice known as surveillance pricing. The measure, the Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act, passed the State Senate in June and now sits close to a full vote in the Assembly.
What the bill would prohibit
Senate Bill S8616A, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, targets three practices at food and drug retail establishments:
- Surveillance pricing. Offering different customers different prices based on personal data gathered through electronic tracking would be barred.
- Electronic shelf labels. The digital price tags that let a store change a shelf price remotely and instantly would be prohibited in covered stores. Supporters argue the tags make dynamic price swings too easy.
- Protected class data. Retailers could not set prices using data that reveals characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, or disability, and could not use any data collected from shoppers under 17.
Which stores are covered
The bill reaches food retail establishments larger than 10,000 square feet that mainly sell household foodstuffs, as well as very large stores over 85,000 square feet that devote at least 10 percent of their space to food. It also covers drug retail establishments that sell prescription and nonprescription medicines. Many independent convenience stores fall below these size thresholds, but larger member locations and supermarket-format stores would need to comply.
Penalties and timing
The Attorney General would enforce the law, with civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation. Each day a violation continues would count as a separate offense. If enacted, the restrictions would take effect 180 days after signing, though the Attorney General would gain rulemaking authority right away.
The bill was ordered to a third reading in the Senate on June 5, 2026, and cleared that chamber. Attorney General Letitia James has publicly urged passage, while the Business Council of New York State has opposed the measure, warning it would raise compliance costs and roll back a labor-saving technology.
What it means for AARA members
For stores already using or planning to install digital shelf tags, the bill would force a return to paper price labels in New York. Owners who have invested in electronic labels should track the Assembly calendar closely, since the 180-day clock and the ban on new installations would begin at signing. Members who tailor prices or promotions using loyalty-app data should also review those programs against the surveillance-pricing definition.