In short. Shops must disclose automated price personalization before the consumer is bound by a covered distance or off-premises contract or corresponding offer.
Definition: Automated personalized pricing means tailoring a price to a particular consumer or consumer category through automated decision-making. Article 6(1)(ea) of the EU Consumer Rights Directive requires disclosure of that personalization before the consumer is bound by a distance or off-premises contract, or a corresponding offer.
Key facts
- The Consumer Rights Directive, Article 6(1)(ea) requires information that the price is personalized on the basis of automated decision-making, where applicable.
- The European Commission's interpretation guidance, section 3.3.1 says the information should appear before each transaction.
- Directive (EU) 2019/2161, Article 7(1) requires Member States to apply the implementing measures from 28 May 2022.
- The September 2026 consolidated directive, Article 6(9) places the burden of proving compliance with these information requirements on the trader.
Which pricing practices trigger the disclosure?
Directive (EU) 2019/2161, recital 45 describes prices tailored to specific consumers or categories through automated decisions and profiling of consumer behavior. Profiling here means using consumer data to assess behavior and purchasing power.
The Commission guidance, section 3.3.1 identifies search history and computing device as possible inputs. Its example contrasts a price increase responding to overall website traffic with an algorithm using a particular consumer's clicks to personalize that consumer's price. The guidance explains that the obligation applies to distance and off-premises contracts and is relevant in practice to contracts concluded online.
When and how must the information appear?
The consolidated Consumer Rights Directive, Article 6(1) requires clear and comprehensible information before the consumer is bound. A distance contract, defined in Article 2(7), uses an organized distance-selling scheme without the trader and consumer being physically present together. Article 8(1) requires information appropriate to the communication method, in plain and intelligible language.
The Commission guidance says the personalization notice should be clear and prominent when the personalized price is offered. A statement about automated decisions in the shop's privacy policy alone is insufficient: the price-personalization information belongs before each transaction. The guidance limits this particular requirement to informing the consumer of the fact of personalization.
Does every changing price require this notice?
Directive (EU) 2019/2161, recital 45 excludes dynamic or real-time pricing that responds to market demand without automated personalization.
The Commission guidance gives time of day and available supply as examples of variables unrelated to the customer. It also excludes differences caused by taxes or applicable charges, including different VAT rates between Member States, and general reductions that do not target individuals or groups selected through automated profiling.
Related terms
- When does automated customer decision-making trigger GDPR Article 22?
- What prior price must a shop show when announcing a discount?
- Can an online shop preselect paid extras at checkout?
FAQ
Must you explain the pricing algorithm under this rule?
The Commission guidance, section 3.3.1 limits the Consumer Rights Directive requirement to disclosure of the fact of personalization. It calls for this information when the personalized price is offered.
Does your pricing notice replace data-protection duties?
The same Commission guidance identifies separate obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including a legal basis under Article 6 and information duties under Articles 12 to 14. It says personalized pricing may also fall under Article 22 on automated decision-making.
Sources
- EUR-Lex, "Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU", consolidated 28 May 2022
- European Commission, "Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU", 29 December 2021
- EUR-Lex, "Directive (EU) 2019/2161", 27 November 2019
- EUR-Lex, "Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU", consolidated 27 September 2026
Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer