Owens says shoppers should compare the same item across multiple access points—store, website, app and logged-in versus logged-out sessions—to spot price differences driven by personal data.
She also recommends checking prices across devices, using incognito mode or a VPN, and having multiple people compare the same purchase at the same time for flights, rideshares or tickets.
Groundwork Collaborative says its tests found such variation; in an NBC "TODAY" experiment, StubHub fees differed among people buying the same Harry Styles tickets, though StubHub said its anonymous tests do not use demographics, location or purchase history.
Owens argues consumer workarounds are time-consuming and pushes a broader "Shoppers' Bill of Rights" to ban surveillance pricing, curb junk fees, simplify refunds and cancellations, and encourage complaints to lawmakers and state consumer officials.