New FTC chair Andrew Ferguson has closed public comment on a request for information (RFI) regarding retailers’ use of surveillance pricing less than a week after it was issued under former chair Lina Khan.

The FTC published the RFI on January 17, releasing findings of its market study that retailers “frequently use” consumers’ personal information like location and browsing history to individually tailor pricing. It then asked the public to share their own surveillance pricing experiences, as well as businesses’ thoughts on the potential impact on competition. Ferguson voted against issuing this report.

The comment period was set to run until April 17, but under Ferguson, who replaced Khan as FTC chair on Monday, the RFI has been closed for comments, withdrawn “due to agency request.” The FTC did not return Retail Brew’s request for comment.

On Thursday, Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya released a dissenting statement against Ferguson’s closing of the FTC’s DE&I office per President Trump’s executive order, criticizing Ferguson’s move to close public comment on five RFIs rather than address rising consumer prices.

Keep reading here.—EC

Like Cold War-era schoolchildren ducking under their desks in case the former Soviet Union launched a nuclear bomb, retail executives these days are taking part in their own geopolitical-driven drill, in this case how to take cover should President Donald Trump fulfill his promise of higher and broader tariffs.

While mid-century students had duck-and-cover mascot Bert the Turtle to guide them through the difficult time, retail executives have something even more adorable: retail experts with MBAs.

“The impact of tariffs will be seismic,” warns a white paper from Swap, the London-based e-commerce platform that specializes in cross-boarder shipping and returns for retailers.

Keep reading here.—AAN

The Retail Industry Leaders Association CEO Forum is convening in Naples, Florida, today, giving executives an opportunity to talk shop in a small group setting. Obviously this lowly retail reporter was not invited, but they should have plenty to talk about, with forest fires, an uncertain economic outlook, and a new Trump administration to contend with.

Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:

In earnings: Earnings season is still reeving up, but there are some big names reporting their results this week. First up is Starbucks on Tuesday with its Q1 report, the first since the coffee chain’s CEO said, “It is clear we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers,” after three consecutive quarters of sales declines. That was the first earnings call from new CEO Brian Niccol, who outlined a number of changes such as speeding transaction times and bringing back condiment bars.

Keep reading here.—AV