New Jersey Fines Apple Over Retail Store Pricing Violations

You walk into a store to buy a product. You should expect to see the price listed in the store. Yeah, we know the whole mantra, “If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.” But for the most part, shops should list the price of the items being sold, right? Unfortunately for Apple , they haven’t exactly been doing that, at least in New Jersey, where the company has been hit with a penalty for its retail store pricing practices.

Apple hit with penalty over retail store pricing in New Jersey

So, does this penalty of the Apple retail store mean that the company has been hiding the pricing of its products? Sort of. You see, over in the state of New Jersey, companies are required to ensure that the pricing of products is clear and visible. That hasn’t been the case for Apple . According to investigators, they found that accessories were sold without visible pricing. They also found that display tables did not show pricing information either.

This doesn’t mean that Apple has been cheating its customers. But rather, presumably the company’s tactic is to get customers to ask for pricing. After which, it could be a sign that they are interested, and the salespeople will try to close the deal. This approach contrasts with walking into a store, balking at the price, and then quietly walking out.

Since this is a direct violation of New Jersey’s Merchandise Pricing Act , Apple has been hit with a $150,000 penalty. According to state officials, this is the largest settlement ever obtained under the Act. It is also not Apple’s first time running afoul of this. The company actually agreed in 2017 to follow the state’s visible pricing laws, but a recent reinspection found otherwise.

What else does the Act require?

If you happen to live in New Jersey, this Act applies to retailers selling products in a store. The Act states that the price must be clearly visible for easy customer access. In Apple’s case, the company uses digital price displays, QR code-based interactions, or software prompts.

According to the Act, device interaction is allowed in limited capacity and only when prices are immediately visible and clearly displayed. This means that companies cannot have a digital device, like an iPad, for customers to have to navigate to the company’s website in order to view pricing.

That being said, the $150,000 penalty is probably chump change for Apple . The company has been hit with fines in the millions in the past, so this is probably nothing to them.