• The FTC wants information about how companies personalize prices.
• The Commission said that it sent orders to companies from Uber to Walmart.
• The orders ask about web use habits and other personal information.

The Federal Trade Commission is asking companies from food delivery services to airlines about how they use personalized prices.

The Commission said on Wednesday that it sent orders to the companies asking for details about what kind of personal information they use to determine prices. The orders target a wide range of companies, from retailers Walmart and Target to food delivery services Uber and DoorDash to airlines like Delta and United.

"Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer," said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson.

"Workers also deserve to know if their compensation is affected by how companies use their personal data," Ferguson added.

Several companies pushed back against the FTC's claims.

"There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal data," a Delta spokesperson said.

"We do not use personal information to set prices, and we never will," Instacart said in a statement.

Walmart and Target previously said they would be transparent about their pricing strategies as more stores start using digital price tags.

A growing number of companies are using dynamic pricing to determine what customers pay for everything from concert tickets to jeans.

Some companies use similar methods to determine how much workers get paid. Uber presents its drivers with potential payouts that aren't based on a per-mile or per-minute rate, for instance, but instead consider factors such as demand.

The FTC's orders ask the companies to submit information about their pricing methodologies, including how they use AI, going back to January 1, 2023. It also asks for research that the companies have done on their pricing strategies, such as A/B tests.

The Commission is also seeking information about how the companies used similar technology to offer workers jobs, according to the orders.

Do you have a story idea about Uber, DoorDash, or Instacart? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Retailers are hoping to win shoppers with easy, affordable Thanksgiving meal options.
• This year's lower per-person prices emphasize value as other cost pressures increase.
• Walmart's meal basket also has more items than last year, plus the company will deliver it for free.

Americans once again face a critical choice this November: where to get their Thanksgiving dinner supplies.

By now, most major retailers have shared their recipes to win shoppers with easy, affordable meal options.

The largest of the bunch, Walmart, said Wednesday that this year's $35 meal basket offers more food and a lower price than last year's offering. Plus the deal includes free delivery.

To be precise, the company says the combo includes 18% more items and costs 12% less than last year, and is the lowest price in the history of the basket.

Other retailers have also managed to lower prices on their holiday meal deals, highlighting this year's focus on value as other cost pressures rise.

Per-person prices generally range from $3.50 to $5, but one key difference between the baskets is the amount of cooking involved.

Budget-minded baskets from Walmart, Lidl, and Aldi each lean more on ingredients to make a meal from scratch, while meal kits from Albertson's, Costco and Sam's Club cost more but come ready to heat and eat. Target says its $30 basket of basics can be combined with its ready-made menu items.

Here's what's included in each of the top retailers' meal offerings, and what it costs per serving.

Walmart — $3.50

• Butterball turkey
• Stove Top stuffing
• Ocean Spray cranberries
• White potatoes
• Great Value gravy
• Great Value canned green beans
• Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
• Great Value dinner rolls
• Sweet potatoes
• Great Value fried onions
• Jet-puffed mini marshmallows
• Great Value canned corn
• Jiffy corn muffin mix
• Great Value canned pumpkin
• Great Value evaporated milk
• Great Value pie crust
• Great Value whipped topping

Total cost: $35 for 10 people.

Lidl — $3.60

• Shady Brook Farms Frozen Whole Turkey — 14 lb.
• Lidl 100% Pure Pumpkin
• Fresh Yellow Onions — 3 lbs.
• Fresh Pure Harvest Russet Potatoes — 5 lbs.
• Fresh Celery
• Lidl Chicken Broth
• Lidl Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup — 2 cans
• Lidl Cut Green Beans — 2 cans
• Lidl Evaporated Milk
• Fresh Sweet Potatoes — 3 lbs.
• French's French Fried Onions
• Lidl Original Whipped Topping
• Lidl Brown Gravy Mix — 2 packets
• Lidl Jellied Cranberry Sauce — 2 cans
• Lidl Mini Marshmallows
• Lidl Pie Crust Dough
• Lidl Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
• Lidl Poultry Seasoning
• Lidl Turkey Stuffing Mix — 2 boxes
• Fresh Peak Harvest Baby Carrots — 2 lbs.
• Lidl Macaroni & Cheese — 2 boxes

Total cost: $35.86 for 10 people.

Aldi — $3.90

• Whole Turkey
• Chef's Cupboard Stuffing Mix (x3)
• Baby Peeled Carrots
• Celery
• Cranberries (12 oz)
• Sweet Potatoes (3lbs)
• L'oven Fresh Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
• Season's Choice Steamable Frozen Peas (x2)
• Baker's Corner Pumpkin Pie Mix
• Bake House Creations Pie Crusts
• Friendly Farms Whole Milk
• Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream

Total cost: $39 for 10 people.

Target — $5

• Butterball turkey, up to 10 lb.
• Russet potatoes, 3 lb. bag
• Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce, 14 oz.
• Del Monte French Style Green Beans, two 14.5 oz cans
• Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, 10.5 oz
• Good & Gather French Fried Onions, 6 oz
• Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Turkey, 6 oz.
• Heinz Homestyle Turkey Gravy, 12 oz.
• Favorite Day Take & Bake Baguette, two count

Total cost: $30 for 6 people.

Sam's Club — $10

• Boneless carver ham
• Hickory smoked turkey
• Yukon Gold mashed potatoes
• Turkey gravy
• Green beans with dried cranberries and almonds (x2)
• Macaroni and cheese (x2)
• Sweet corn with garlic butter
• Cranberry crunch salad
• Yeast dinner rolls
• Charcuterie entertainment tray
• 12" pumpkin pies (x2)

Total cost: $160 for 16 people.

Albertsons — $11

• Fully cooked 10 to 12 lb turkey
• 32 oz mashed potatoes
• 28 oz homestyle stuffing
• 24 oz gravy
• 14 oz cranberry sauce
• 12-count package of King's Hawaiian Rolls.

Total cost: $90 for 8 people, only available online with pre-order.

Costco — $25

• 5 lbs. Free Range Amish Turkey Breast
• 3 lbs. Tray of Mashed Potatoes
• 24 oz. Turkey Gravy
• 3 lbs. Tray of Mac and Cheese
• 3 lbs. Tray of Sweet Corn
• 3 lbs. Tray of Green Bean Casserole
• 2 lbs. Candied Yams
• 3 lbs. Tray of Cornbread Stuffing
• 20 oz. Pack of Cranberry Relish
• 12 Gourmet Dinner Rolls
• 2 lbs. Tray of Apple Cobbler
• 2 lbs. Whole Pumpkin Pie

Total cost: $200 for 8 people, only available online with pre-order.

• Major brands put a lot of care into choosing a defining color — for Target it's Pantone 186.
• But a shade that works in one context might not suit all situations.
• Target told BI it adopted a shade called "Cherry Stain" for when the bullseye red is a bit hot.

Target takes its colors very seriously.

The retailer's iconic red, also known as Pantone 186, is a vibrant, highly saturated shade that makes its bullseye logo stand out in a crowd. It's a color that catches the eye on subway platforms and suburban shopping centers alike.

A new employee-only line of apparel, designed in collaboration with Isaac Mizrahi, is dubbed Collection 186. And two decades ago, Target bought all the ad space in an issue of The New Yorker and asked the magazine's illustrators to work only in black, white, and red.

But when Target remodeled its SoHo location in New York last year, using the trademark red for nearly every element of the store's entrance proved to be a bit much.

"It was just a little too overpowering, so our design team brought in this color that we're now calling Cherry Stain to kind of help balance out all of the red," Target's chief brand officer Michelle Mesenburg told Business Insider during an exclusive store tour last week. "It has now become part of our IP color palette at Target."

While the new Cherry Stain color appears on several fixtures in the SoHo store, it is more prominently seen as the official shade of the newly launched Beauty Studio department, which the retailer is rolling out in stores this year.

It's a calmer, more inviting hue that both complements the primary red and serves as an alternative when the bullseye shade might come off a bit too hot.

The company is now using the shade in more contexts, including some Target logos that now appear as a combination of the Pantone 186 and the new Cherry Stain, rather than the traditional red and white.

"It's a fresh chapter," Mesenburg said. "We're pulling elements of what we're learning here [in SoHo]. It may not translate exactly one-for-one, but the influence is coming into the full chain."

• The holiday shopping season keeps starting earlier and earlier.
• Target has struggled in recent years to keep the momentum going to the end.
• This year's strategy leans harder into the micro-season trend, with a big push in the home stretch.

The holiday shopping season keeps creeping earlier on the calendar, and that head start can come at the expense of the final stretch.

After weeks of crowds, big-box stores in the week before Christmas can be left with picked-over shelves. This year, as part of CEO Michael Fiddelke's turnaround effort, Target is shifting from a marathon mentality to a series of sprints intended to help the retailer finish strong.

Target's US stores will kick off the holiday season with a major reset in the first week of November, followed by another overhaul in the first week of December after Black Friday.

But the team isn't stopping there.

For the home stretch, Target is picking up the pace with a new micro-season intended to carry the energy through the final 10 days before Christmas.

"Decorating your home is done, then you start going to gift-giving," Target's chief merchandising officer Cara Sylvester told reporters at a preview event in New York last week. "The entire back of the store will be transformed into what we're calling Christmas Morning Magic."

That means this year, instead of seeing leftover string lights and stockings in the seasonal section, Sylvester said the zone will be flooded with fresh stocking stuffers priced from $3 to $20.

Target is, of course, not the only retailer to struggle with late-season momentum that can leave last-minute shoppers in the lurch, but Fiddelke has focused on faster cadence to win back shoppers.

"The holiday season is such a culmination of what the team has been hard at work on all year," he said at the briefing. "It's a hectic time of year."

Target's chief brand officer Michelle Mesenburg told Business Insider that the company is taking a lot of cues from its recently revamped concept store in New York's SoHo shopping district.

Starting early and turning items over more quickly has been a successful strategy at the SoHo store, she said, as well as a flexible approach to fixtures that keep the store looking fresh through several episodes of a longer season. Now the company is looking to put that philosophy into practice nationwide this holiday.