Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., raised concerns about how the practice could affect online shoppers.
"What if I told you a store like Staples, for instance, charged more online based on your IP address?" Hawley said during the hearing.
The issue has gained attention on social media, where consumers have reported seeing different prices for the same items when placing online orders.
Nancy Ruth Fox, an economics professor at St. Joseph's University, described the concept succinctly: "one person is paying a different price than another for the same thing."
Experts noted that charging different prices to different groups of consumers is not a new practice. Movie theaters, for example, have long offered separate pricing based on age.
"There's different prices for adults. Children," said Ed Nelling, a finance professor at Drexel University.
Unlike traditional pricing models, however, newer forms of surveillance pricing can occur behind the scenes, with artificial intelligence helping companies analyze consumer information.
"That person may have access to that person's individual data, maybe their past shopping trends. That may indicate a difference in ability to pay," Nelling said.
According to the experts interviewed, companies can gather information through membership programs, loyalty services and social media activity.
"It knows your interests. It knows how much you spent on that coat, so when you go buy another coat, it's like, 'Hmm... I bet they're willing to spend this much on the coat,'" Fox said.
The issue recently prompted action in New Jersey. Last month, Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a law banning retailers from tracking factors such as income and browsing history to help determine prices.
At the Capitol Hill hearing, University of Pennsylvania marketing professor Z. John Zhang defended the practice, which he said is better described as "personalized pricing."
"The basic reason why firms use personalized pricing is that consumers differ. Some are willing to pay more. Others are price sensitive," Zhang said.
Asked whether consumers can avoid surveillance pricing, Nelling suggested making it more difficult for companies to track purchasing behavior.
"The more we can camouflage our shopping habits, the harder it is for companies to track us," he said.
Experts added that the tried-and-true practice of shopping in person, without using loyalty programs, may make it harder for retailers to collect data tied to individual purchasing habits.