The Food Professor- When Your Grocery Bill Starts Pricing You
Charging different consumers different prices for the same food, in the same store, at the same time, simply because an algorithm decides so crosses an ethical line.
The Food Professor- When Your Grocery Bill Starts Pricing You
Charging different consumers different prices for the same food, in the same store, at the same time, simply because an algorithm decides so crosses an ethical line.
“At the center of this shift is dynamic pricing.”
This used to be called “haggling” or more politely “bargaining” and it was a curse upon the nation. The guy who fixed that in Canada was Timothy Eaton. He made “Cash only, one price for all” into a retail dynasty and ended the practice of retail bargaining.
Getting a computer to do the bargaining instead of the shop keeper is arguably worse, because the algo has a huge advantage in knowledge. The shopkeeper knew his cost and profit, but the algo knows all that plus what’s in your bank account and has a perfect history of your purchases. Not just at that store, but everywhere. The friggin’ All Seeing Eye of Sauron.
I suppose we shall see how this goes. I prophesy somebody will do what Timothy Eaton did, and make a killing by dealing straight with people.
Put Digital Currency and Digital ID on top of that and we are screwed. Especially with the clowns in Ottawa and Victoria.
This practice is not haggling as the purchaser is not involved in the “haggle“. It is price fixing based upon unknowns and cannot be responded to by the purchaser.
Well, there is one response available to the purchaser. They can refuse the price and walk away. Same as the old days.
Which is what I’ll be doing if stores start that crap with me.
I don’t think they can possibly know your bank account balance.
But they will know your purchase history. If you rarely bought sale items or bought lots of expensive luxury items they’ll conclude you may be rich or a sucker.
I don’t know why commies and women would complain about this. Hey commies and ladies, this will make the rich and men pay their “fair share”. Men rarely even look at prices – I personally am banned even from going shopping with my wife because I throw whatever appeals to me into the cart. If I go on my own and bring home an expensive steak she is often able, and very willing, to tell me how much I over paid by shopping at the wrong store or that I should have waited 2 days for a sale to start.
Anyway, it’s all supply, demand and profit. If the grocery store makes more money from this it will continue, if not, then not.
I understand what ‘dynamic pricing’ is and how algorithms online work, but am at a loss to figure out how the price tags on a grocery store shelf will somehow know who I am and change the price as I walk up to them.
They won’t have a shelf price. They tell you the “price” when they ring you up. Also, this is more for on-line shopping.
However, there -is- a way to change the shelf prices. Many stores now have little E-Ink tags that automatically update from a server, eliminating shelf price changes. They could change the E-Ink tag for each shopper using the security surveillance cameras and the shopper’s phone. Maybe add a unique tag to each shopping cart so they can map your location better.
Worst part? It would be easy and cheap to do. Cameras are very cheap, and 10 labels for $300 on Amazon. Probably available for half or less in bulk.
“They won’t have a shelf price. They tell you the “price” when they ring you up.”
In my case they won’t, because I never ever buy anything without a price on it.
” Many stores now have little E-Ink tags that automatically update from a server, eliminating shelf price changes.”
Yeah, several stores in Vancouver already have that. It’s a pain because you can’t see any sale prices from an angle…you have to walk right up to it and look before you can see the red color of the tag.
“using the security surveillance cameras and the shopper’s phone.”
Another good reason not to have a ‘smart’ phone.
“Another good reason not to have a ‘smart’ phone.”
Yes, but lately there have been examples in the news of stores using facial recognition to identify people who pay cash. Another technology that is well within the means of large retailers.
Time to break out the Groucho Marx nose glasses.
I’ve got a PC Optimum card.
Every week I get offers meaning savings or points. 1000 points = $1.
One of my best savings comes from coffee.
I get PC West Coast Dark coffee at $16 while the price shown in store is $22 or more.
So then I’ll buy 4 and keep a stockpile till the next offer.
I don’t see anything unfair but I don’t care if it somehow is.
I have a PC Optimum. I rarely see any value to it.
I’m up over $1800 total over the years and $150 for this year.
If you have a smarty pants phone get the app.
All I know is this …
1- I pay A LOT more $$ for my groceries in my upper, upper, middle class town in the Bay Area than my daughter does in a toney beach town in LA. I would suspect the socioeconomic strata is similar … but we get GOUGED up here in the Bay Area … “where everyone’s a millionaire” h/t Supertramp.
2- Safeway labels prices as a SALE price at multiple different prices. For example, Ken’s salad dressings “retails” for something like $5.49/bottle … and is often placed on sale at $3.99/bottle. If you aren’t a regular shopper … you’d think that’s a “deal” … but … I know that the REAL sale price is $2.49/bottle which I purchase at that REAL sale price. They do this with EVERYTHING in the store. What I call half-sale prices. FAKE sale prices.
I ONLY buy the deep, TRUE, sale prices at Safeway. Their retail and FAKE sale priced goods get ignored by me. I consider this practice highly deceptive.
I JUST went to Safeway yesterday for my holiday food shopping and I kid you not … I purchased $206.00 +/- of food … and the price tag said I had SAVED $243.00+/-. Yes … I “saved” MORE than I paid. That’s how utterly bogus their jacked-up retail prices are. Safeway (owned by Albertsons) is a predatory grocer. They are NOT your friend.
I avoid Safeways here in Ottawa, just too expensive. Loblaws too now. They’ve gotten worse.
I haven’t seen this “dynamic” pricing thing, but I sure see dynamic gouging,
I was looking at tenderloin filets the other day, and it was $124 a kilo. The 2 thin filets were 300 grams and around $42. Cutting filets thin defeats the purpose. Needless to say, I opted for the overpriced hamburger.
I also see diminished food quality, shrinkflation, supply chain gaps, and grumpy grocery workers. I used to enjoy shopping for food, but now it is an endurance test, especially when I forget my bags.
Everything seems broken, even some spirits.
‘Shrinkflation’ is the worst to me because they deliberately hide the price increase and for some reason our government allows them to get away with it.
Reduce the supply and increase the price at the same time. That’s what I have been seeing.
Unfortunately, for a host of reasons, everything IS broken. The straw on the camel’s back was the Covid Con.
WestJet is already taking dynamic pricing to a whole other level. I’ve seen advertisements for bidding on upgrades
https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/manage/upgrade/bidding
In industry, different pricing for different customers is standard. I remember an accounting professor who formerly worked for a brewery that did a lot of international business. He said they had 28 different price lists. I did work for a fairly large for Canada manufacturer. They priced at retail and depending who you were they gave discounts from 15 to 50 %. I have also worked in retail where I would give discounts to people who spent thousands and weren’t assholes.