Sandra Myers

You already know that everything you do online is being tracked. What if I told you that this online tracking is being used to adjust pricing for items based on what companies know about you. This is, in effect, behavioral price gouging. Here are a few examples from the non-profit website consumerwatchdog.org:

Target: Target charged people more when they were in a Target parking lot versus when they were in another location... Target determined people who are already in their parking lot were willing to pay more. For example, a TV on the Target app was priced at $499.99, but once the person entered the company’s parking lot the price went up $100, to $599.99.

The Princeton Review: The test prep company charged customers more that were shopping online from zip codes that contained a higher number of Asians, according to ProPublica.

Staples: Staples.com charged people more for the same stapler if they knew a person had fewer options, such as being near a competitor, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Orbitz: Orbitz learned that Mac (computer) users spend more money to stay at hotels and charged them more than non-Mac users, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon: The enormous amount of data at Amazon’s disposal allows it to change prices over 2.5 million times a day, meaning the average cost of a product changes about every 10 minutes. Prices are fluctuating all the time based on real-time data. The price a user sees could depend on how often they’ve visited a product page, among other factors. People are charged different prices for the same product based on corporate surveillance of their lives.

In Person Surveillance Pricing

While surveillance pricing is more common online, brick-and-mortar stores are expanding its use of pricing technologies. Kroger and Wal-Mart plan on installing digital price tags on shelves by 2026, so between the time you grab a loaf of bread and make it to the check out, the price may increase.

    Both companies also plan to incorporate facial recognition technology. They claim its for targeted coupons. But imagine a late night visit to a store, your face is scanned and voila, they know you’re a tired mom who just needs tylenol for her sick child and you aren’t likely to notice the price increase.

    Even if a store is not using digital price tags or facial recognition technology, it can still engage in surveillance pricing through the vast network of data collection and sharing that occurs without consumers knowing. Grocery stores may collect the data from the consumer’s past purchases, app usage, and loyalty program usage, but may also buy data from data brokers.

    We customers have largely been reduced to data and algorithms. Falling by the wayside are the friendly store keeper and honest business dealings.