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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/12/prices-that-change-by-the-second-why-shopping-around-for-deals-online-isnt-always-worth-it>
"Have you ever shopped around online to find the best possible deal, clicked
the checkout button, walked away smug at your sleuthing – only to find someone
else got the same thing from the same place for an even cheaper price?
This is the result of personalised pricing: also known as “dynamic pricing” or
“price discrimination”, depending on who you ask. By collecting data about your
habits online, and employing algorithms to analyse that data, businesses can
charge you what they predict you are willing to pay for their goods and
services. The catch is, this is not always the same as the lowest price they
are willing to sell for. It may even be above the market value of the thing
you’re buying.
The example you might be most familiar with is air fares. Two people sitting
next to each other on the same flight could have purchased their tickets on the
same day, with the same fare conditions, but one might have paid more –
sometimes significantly more – than the other.
But it doesn’t just happen with air fares. These days, just about anything you
buy online could be susceptible to this type of pricing. As you shop around,
businesses can collect data about you, then employ sophisticated analytical
tools to ensure you may never actually get the lowest available price.
So is it even worth it to shop around online for deals? The answer is
complicated."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
