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A price tag is a sticker or paper tag (often attached with twine, plastic wire, or a safety pin) declaring the price of an item for sale.
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History
Before the late 1800s, in most cases, retail goods did not have a fixed price, and each customer would be expected to haggle with the store clerk. One exception to this practice was the Quakers, who found it immoral for different customers to pay different prices (now known as price discrimination). In the 1870s, Wanamaker's in Philadelphia and Macy's in New York (Rowland Hussey Macy was a Quaker) began affixing physical tags to items, eliminating haggling. This allowed them to reduce training time for new clerks (who would no longer need to know the art of haggling nor the range of accepted prices for every item) and allowed clerks to serve more customers.
Large stores also kept goods behind a counter, requiring clerks to fetch items for customers. The Piggly Wiggly chain of grocery stores was the first to become self-service in 1916, further cementing the need for price tags. Price tags soon became commonplace in Western retail stores, and haggling rare outside of proprietors and individuals selling used items.
Legal requirement
Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the price, or have shelf tags or barcode scanners available so customers can determine prices without consulting store staff. In some cases, unit price is also required.
Some jurisdictions also outlaw price discrimination except for different quantities (e.g. high-quantity discounts are allowed) or different types of customers (e.g. individuals vs. organizations that might be expected to buy in bulk or have better creditworthiness). For example, the 1936 Robinson–Patman Act outlaws this practice in the United States.