FTC Seeks Comment by May 18 on Food Delivery Pricing and Fees

By Laura Kim, Alexandra Remick & Carter McCants on April 23, 2026

On April 14, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) announced an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) seeking public comment on whether a new rule is needed to address fee practices by online food and grocery delivery platforms that may obscure total pricing or impede consumers’ ability to compare prices across services. Comments are due May 18, 2026. The Commission will review those comments to determine whether to proceed with a notice of proposed rulemaking.

The ANPRM poses a broad set of questions for stakeholders organized around the following core themes:

Platform Roles and Control: The FTC seeks input on how online delivery platforms, restaurants, grocery merchants, and other participants divide responsibility for advertising, pricing, and providing delivery services. The Commission is examining who controls how prices and fees are displayed, and the extent to which merchants have visibility into—or influence over—platform pricing and fee practices. The ANPRM also asks whether any future rule should apply uniformly across all food and grocery merchants or whether tailored requirements or exemptions may be appropriate for certain platforms or retail models.
Pricing Structure and Transparency: The FTC is also seeking input on how online delivery platforms set and present prices, including how delivery fees and other charges are calculated and disclosed to consumers. The ANPRM asks whether platforms rely on fixed formulas, dynamic pricing, or hybrid approaches, how factors such as delivery distance, time of day, order size, and driver availability affect pricing, and whether consumers are clearly informed when fees are variable or contingent. The Commission is also examining whether prices on delivery platforms differ from in‑store or in‑restaurant prices, why those differences exist, whether higher item prices are used to offset delivery fees, and how pricing varies across platforms, merchants, and consumers. In addition, the FTC seeks comment on how discounts, subscriptions, promotions, and “free” or “$0” delivery claims are presented, including whether material limitations or mandatory charges are clearly disclosed.
Personalized Pricing: The Commission is also examining how online food delivery platforms use consumer and merchant data to set personalized prices. It is seeking input on whether—and to what extent—platforms charge different prices, fees, or other amounts to different users for the same goods or services based on factors like location, demographics, purchase history, app or browser activity, device information, or IP address. The Commission is particularly interested in how these practices may affect consumers’ ability to comparison shop.
Total Price Disclosure: A central focus of the ANPRM is whether platforms clearly and conspicuously disclose the full price of a delivery order—including all mandatory fees—before consumers complete a transaction. The FTC asks how common it is for required fees to be disclosed only at checkout and whether such practices impede consumers’ ability to make informed purchasing decisions. The Commission also seeks input on whether platforms should be required to present total pricing whenever they advertise or display a delivery price.
Fees and Tips: The FTC is examining whether platforms clearly disclose who receives delivery fees and tips, such as the platform, the merchant, or the delivery worker. The ANPRM also addresses how tips are presented to consumers, including whether suggested tip amounts are preselected by default, how easily consumers can adjust them, and whether platforms suggest that tipping affects order priority or delivery speed.
Competition Concerns: Finally, the Commission is focused on how fee and pricing practices affect competition in the online food and grocery delivery market, including by increasing consumer search costs.

This ANPRM reflects the FTC’s continued interest in pricing transparency, including in the area of personalized pricing. Covington will continue to monitor developments related to this rulemaking and related enforcement activity. If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this blog post, please contact the members of our Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations practice.