Problems that shoppers often write off as part of modern life — including fare jumps, store prices that change before checkout, and subscriptions that feel impossible to end — are being recast as matters of consumer rights.
That framing sits at the center of a proposed Shoppers' Bill of Rights, pitched as a response to tech-enabled practices.
Here's what to know
In an Instagram video, Lindsay Owens (@lindsayowensphd) introduced the initiative and called for stronger protections against rapidly changing prices and services that are hard to cancel.
"What if there was a set of rules that protected you from corporate America's worst rip-offs: Uber's surge pricing, Walmart's electronic shelf labels that can change a price six times in one minute, the inability to cancel a gym subscription?" she wrote.
In the video, Owens walks through how she and the Groundwork Collaborative (@groundworkcollab) are taking on some of the biggest pitfalls shoppers face. A news release on the Shoppers' Bill of Rights listed the 12 rights the group advocates for consumers.
Owens discussed many of them in the video, noting that plenty of these rights are actually written into law but poorly enforced.
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When companies can adjust prices instantly, bury the true cost of a purchase, or put obstacles in front of cancellations, the burden falls on shoppers to constantly monitor, compare, and second-guess what should be simple transactions.
Commenters echoed that frustration.
"Dynamic pricing shouldn't be a daily thing," one wrote. "It's just price-gouging. Set your prices for the week."
More background
The post ties together services many people rely on regularly, such as ride shares, groceries, memberships, and shopping. Owens argues that the problem is not technology but how it can be used to extract more money from customers.
Other commenters pushed the issue beyond surge pricing.
"I can't stand when I'm not allowed to unsubscribe from emails without going to the website and logging in and then searching for the proper link," one said. "So unnecessary."
Another added: "And the tax should actually be included in the pricing so we actually know how much the product is with tax. We aren't walking around Walmart with calculators to figure out the tax on each thing we put in our cart."
What's being done?
Owens' post cast the Shoppers' Bill of Rights as a policy answer built around clear rules.
The document hits on many of the biggest battles being waged by consumers. Those include more than just ones built around pricing and cancellations. The right to repair, fair refunds, controls on ticket resales, and guardrails on artificial intelligence shopping agents also made the list.
"It shouldn't be just on consumers to dodge and weave these giants," Owens concluded in the caption. "It's time for more."
Where can I learn more?
Kroger's digital shelf labels are one of the first changes that sparked fears for shoppers.
• At Kroger, new digital price tags have lawmakers worried about grocery surge pricing.
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