E-commerce marketing · Industry brief

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The FTC published a Proposed Enforcement Policy Statement on August 19, 2026, signaling increased regulatory scrutiny of personalized pricing practices in e-commerce. The policy would require businesses collecting or using customer data to clearly disclose when and how they use that data to generate personalized prices, going beyond existing state-level approaches like New York's algorithm notice requirement. The disclosure mandate would apply to circumstances where prices are adjusted based on geography, access to alternatives, or personal circumstances, and would require businesses to specify that a price is personalized, the basis for personalization, and types of data used. The policy faces a 30-day public comment period, with expected debate between consumer advocates seeking transparency and businesses concerned about revealing proprietary pricing processes. Maryland and New Jersey have already enacted laws banning personalized pricing for groceries, while the FTC's January 2025 findings revealed some retailers were using granular data like website mouse movements to set individualized prices.

Walmart closed its acquisition of connected TV platform Vibe.co for approximately $1.4 billion, folding it into Walmart Connect, the retailer's retail media arm. Combined with Walmart's 2024 acquisition of Vizio, the deal positions the company to compete more directly with Amazon in streaming advertising and extends its first-party commerce data and measurement capabilities into connected TV while improving accessibility for smaller advertisers. The company's broader advertising business grew nearly 40% in the second quarter, with ad revenue growth outpacing ecommerce growth, and Walmart is integrating shopping, media, and streaming capabilities under a unified commerce strategy overseen by Chief Growth Officer Seth Dallaire.

Australia's ACCC conditionally approved the Ampol/EG acquisition, marking the first transaction cleared following Phase 2 review under the new mandatory notification regime. China's SAMR conditionally approved Tencent's acquisition of online audio platform Ximalaya with strict behavioural remedies. Taiwan's TFTC approved the USD 22 billion Skyworks/Qorvo semiconductor merger, while Vietnam overhauled its merger control regime with new notification thresholds and expanded enforcement powers for the VCC. Across the region, regulators are escalating digital platform enforcement: Australia released draft legislation for the News Bargaining Incentive requiring significant digital platforms to enter commercial deals with news publishers or face a 2.25% levy on gross Australian revenue. Hong Kong's HKCC secured binding commitments from Keeta on exclusivity and price parity issues. Indonesia's KPPU escalated its probe into TikTok and Tokopedia over alleged e-commerce dominance, while China's SAMR is nearing conclusion of an abuse investigation into Trip.com with a potential CNY 3–4 billion fine. Singapore's CCS took enforcement action against online retailers for "dark patterns" including false urgency and misleading scarcity claims, securing formal undertakings from three companies.