Surge Pricing

D.P. said:
Ehh, you seem to be back up my statement:

Of course at normal rates Uber is cheaper than a taxi, that isn't the pint of contention. the issue is with Uber you can be at 1.7X or 2.0X the base rate, quite often at times when you most want a taxi quite obviously, so when it is a busy period there is a fair chance you will pay more for an Uber than a taxi.
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ah fair enough, it was more the 'much more expensive' statement - there could be a UK/US difference wrt surge - surge doesn't tend to last long when it happens in central London it isn't standard even at popular times IME and at 1.7 would probably still be cheaper here for some journeys. I guess at 2* then you'd be getting more expensive but only marginally. I guess Black Cabs are rather expensive to start with though and the drivers generally well rewarded (well at least until uber turned up).
 
But supply doesn't change... They will have say 500 a day. No more no less. They cannot sell more than 500, they dont make more on demand. They can do research to see how many they sell. Order less... Order more. It takes 2 mins to replenish shelves...

Sorry I just got off phone lost train of thought.

The crux of it is captive market, 20p extra profit, grumbling customer pays. Shareholders light cigars with dollar bills.
 
Efour said:
But supply doesn't change... They will have say 500 a day. No more no less. They cannot sell more than 500, they dont make more on demand. They can do research to see how many they sell. Order less... Order more. It takes 2 mins to replenish shelves...
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indeed - supply is another variable to optimise over... but fact is it seems they can reduce waste with dynamic pricing - if you can discount efficiently at say 3pm (in this lunch example) then you might end up getting rid of the unsold stock more efficiently - alternative is to have a staff member spend time putting new labels on stuff
 
dowie said:
indeed - supply is another variable to optimise over... but fact is it seems they can reduce waste with dynamic pricing - if you can discount efficiently at say 3pm (in this lunch example) then you might end up getting rid of the unsold stock more efficiently - alternative is to have a staff member spend time putting new labels on stuff
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one supermarket chain here in Sweden has digital pricing it's not a big deal, I'm just against mobile pricing based on perceived extra demand. As for the waste thats down to knowing the market better not dumping stuff for 10p at 8pm every night. That's still wasteful. If they wanted no waste they would give the stuff away.
 
Efour said:
one supermarket chain here in Sweden has digital pricing it's not a big deal, I'm just against mobile pricing based on perceived extra demand. As for the waste thats down to knowing the market better not dumping stuff for 10p at 8pm every night. That's still wasteful. If they wanted no waste they would give the stuff away.
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Well giving stuff away is nice/altruistic that is still 'waste' from the business perspective - whether it has been thrown in the bins or not... it isn't like it is all going to be given away and super markets do generate large quantities of waste. If this can reduce waste then I don't see it as a bad thing - as you're pointing out dumping stuff for 10p at 8pm could be inefficientl, being able to better optimise the discount is probably therefore a good thing.

I doubt this going to be fluctuating too frequently - the biggest use will probably be discounting perishable goods - however I guess you could see say ice lollies on a hot day being ramped up a bit.
 
* reads article where supermarket is kicked for not keeping sales SEL up to date and accurate. Consumers up in arms.

* Reads article where supermarket implements electronic SEL to ensure pricing is accurate. Consumers don tin foil hats and are up in arms

\o/
 
Efour said:
Actually that's true, shouldn't your product be at it's cheapest when there is plentiful supply and maximum customers?

Muon is right. Shouldn't off peak sarnies cost more because they sell less and need to cover overheads more?
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I don't think it would work like that. Off peak is always cheaper for everything i.e. bus/train tickets, electricity etc.
 
krooton said:
Surging prices for everyone is one thing, dynamic pricing at an individual customer level is what I was talking about ;)
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It's going to come. As the number of items left gets smaller the price will got up. Airlines have been doing it for ages.
 
Im going to get some chickens and plant some veg.

Joking aside we barely spend anything in supermarkets these days and I don't think our local farm shop is going to go electronic anytime soon. Oh and I don't eat lunch either so it not going to have a vast effect on us, I still think its a **** bag tactic though.
 
Greebo said:
It's going to come. As the number of items left gets smaller the price will got up. Airlines have been doing it for ages.
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That... doesn't make sense, if a sandwich costs 50p more because there's only one left, i'll go elsewhere or buy something else. Who are these "must have this super-desirable sandwich or nothing" people?

A flight is well a luxury for the most part, you generally can't fly yourself away without it being a huge hassle getting a plane/license, you can easily make your own sandwich though.
 
You might go somewhere else but many won't. They'll wander into a supermarket, mindlessly pick up their preferred sandwich, pay and walk out. And the few that do notice a price difference will buy anyway because they can't be bothered to walk / get in their car and go somewhere else.
 
Diddums said:
Airlines have been doing this for years. They monitor what you look at, and next time you come to purchase a flight, the tickets are suddenly more expensive. Always use incognito when dealing with airlines.
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Id there actually any evidence that that's widespread? I've booked dozens of flights and never once had that happen to me.
 
StriderX said:
That... doesn't make sense, if a sandwich costs 50p more because there's only one left, i'll go elsewhere or buy something else.
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Exactly. The ideal time to sell your last sandwich would be just as your next sandwich delivery arrives. So, if you have just one sandwich left, 100 people that want a sandwich before the next delivery, you might as well raise the price top the point only a few of these 100 would be willing to still buy it. You walking away makes you one of the 90+ that will then walk. They still sell their last sandwich but they get maximum profit from it.

As I said, I don't think it will happen, but that's the logic of it. It works the other way for clearing too much stock. We have 100 sandwiches and only 50 people will come to buy one before they expire. Lower the price to the point 100 people will want one...
 
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