Grocery Store Dynamic Pricing

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this belongs here or Politics, but are people aware of this coming trend? Kroger and Walmart may use artificial intelligence and facial recognition for digital price tags. They say that it is for targeted advertising and discounts but others fear that it will be used to implement Uber-style surge pricing based on your purchase habits and other consumer data they have on you.

I've seen other commentary suggesting that airlines already do this and it is no big deal. Others suggest that this is just a mechanism to determine individual price elasticity which is, conceptually, more efficient.

Are there any positives to this?

https://www.vice.com/en/article/surge-pricing-facial-recognition-surveillance-grocery-stores/

[Anonymous]

How long until a researcher shows race is a factor and the companies get sued into oblivion?

[Anonymous]

"Walmart has also been testing digital price tags with fluctuating prices that could change in the time it takes you to grab the item off the shelf and scan it at the register."

How is that legal? If they advertise a price, aren't they obliged to honor it?

[Anonymous]

So if you're white you get one price and if your brown you get another? Sounds illegal and totally discusting.

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah! Local retailers and fast food, restaurants or catching hell for this, but it's a very common practice online. I've never heard of face recognition based pricing. I suspect that's just speculation. Honestly, I see no real big problem with it. I think what people should do is shop online which allows you to compare prices then lock your prices in and you'll get the best deals. You can work the coupon system, and the discounts to your advantage and save way more than you would in store anyway.

[Anonymous]

It's true that airlines do it. I had the prices raised by about 1k during a 12 hr period between searching for flights and then actually purchasing them. I even searched in incognito.

[Anonymous]

Amazon changes their prices something like 1 million times a day

[Anonymous]

I think algorithms are driving up inflation. Constantly testing the limit of what people will spend is causing people to spend more money overall.

[Anonymous]

I heard that Ulta won't let people buy anything without providing their phone number. Even in cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard that Ulta won't let people buy anything without providing their phone number. Even in cash.

202 867 5309 also 202 555 5555, but the 555 are disabled some places. I've actually gotten some really good rewards with 867 5309 especially at gas stations

[Anonymous]

Same 867 6309

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh yeah! Local retailers and fast food, restaurants or catching hell for this, but it's a very common practice online. I've never heard of face recognition based pricing. I suspect that's just speculation. Honestly, I see no real big problem with it. I think what people should do is shop online which allows you to compare prices then lock your prices in and you'll get the best deals. You can work the coupon system, and the discounts to your advantage and save way more than you would in store anyway.

Yeah, but I can’t choose my own produce. I’m not giving that up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you're white you get one price and if your brown you get another? Sounds illegal and totally discusting.

agread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think algorithms are driving up inflation. Constantly testing the limit of what people will spend is causing people to spend more money overall.

+1

Dynamic grocery shopping sounds awful.