Surge Pricing

Greebo · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:01

D.P. said:
I have had this happen with my on 2 eyes. Whenever I look for flights I will go through a VPN, but also have used different computers with different OSs. I've saved hundreds of dollars on some trans-atlantic flights just by getting my wife to book through her work computer.

We have had 2 laptops sat side by side on the same wireless network, both running OSX and one will give a higher price than the other due to search history.

There have been independent investigations in to this and the legality scrutinized, but it turns out to be perfectly legal. Lots of cases where fliers sent though house doors quoted different prices due to the relative affluence if the neighborhood. As long as there is no discrimination based on age/sex/gender/race etc. Then companies can dynamically price in anyway they want

And this is the next stage for all retailers. Ultimately the people behind surge pricing are looking to bring in individual pricing into being in the future.

"Oh Mr knapstaad, my system system tells me you quite often buy 4 titan cards and are wealthy, our new Titan is therefore £50 more to you sir"

Thats the kind of world we are heading to.

Ultimately in shops with the digital displays they will know who you are standing in front of it and it will show a different price to you than the next person going to that display.

For example, they might know you always buy a certain brand and they might off you an instant discount on their own brand to get you to buy that instead of your normal brand. This discount would be for you only.

ScreamWorker · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:21

i think food waste needs to be actioned in some way really, the amount i see local supermarkets throwing away is disgusting..

touch · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:31

Greebo said:
For example, they might know you always buy a certain brand and they might off you an instant discount on their own brand to get you to buy that instead of your normal brand. This discount would be for you only.

Tesco does this already and I'm sure most others probably do as well. The only difference being they send you your personal discount in the post rather than displaying it in real-time in the price on the shelf.

Greebo · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:34

touch said:
Tesco does this already and I'm sure most others probably do as well. The only difference being they send you your personal discount in the post rather than displaying it in real-time in the price on the shelf.

Exactly. In the future it will be done real time and instant. Or even subsidized in the supermarket by the manufacturer. You always buy one make of razor so one of the other manufacturers offers you a healthy discount to swap and obviously they will then reimburse the supermarket the difference,

Its the same way advertising hoardings will go in the future that people will get individual adverts based on their history and preferences.

varkanoid · 27 Jun 2017 at 13:38

ScreamWorker said:
i think food waste needs to be actioned in some way really, the amount i see local supermarkets throwing away is disgusting..

Its getting better some donate to food banks. Tesco's I think it was in the news recently do it.

StriderX · 27 Jun 2017 at 14:12

Tbh, if this is going to happen, i'd rather just shop at an Amazon Go store than attempt to support some poor scrotes wages when their job is almost completely defunct.

As soon as Amazon figures out how to self-fill their isles, its game over for the employment in this industry.

chrcoluk · 27 Jun 2017 at 14:16

Obvious complications are when you order stuff for delivery, although they already have a note when ordering that prices may fluctuate before delivery so maybe not?

I would think a solution to the pick up and till problem would be a sensor detects when item is picked up and then the price is frozen.

This doesnt surprise me one bit tho, it happens in other sectors including OCUK where we see prices jump up and down seemingly on a whim

but is to respond to supply and demand.

Amp34 · 27 Jun 2017 at 14:35

Diddums said:
A show called Supershoppers did a segment on it. At one point the two presenters searched prices for exactly the same flight, at exactly the same time, one on a Macbook and one on a phone, and the Macbook was more expensive. They also checked the same flight numerous times and saw the prices go up. When using a different PC, they got the original lower price again. They also interviewed an anonymous former online travel agent who confirmed that some websites do this, Trivago being one of the biggest culprits. I'll see if I can find the episode.

EDIT: it was travel agents, not airlines. "Supershoppers S02E03".

Perhaps travel agents do it, never seen it happen with airlines though and I've checked a fair few times on other devices if the price goes up between first searching and going to buy. It's most likely related to what Greebo mentions, rather than specific individuals.

Greebo said:
The budget airlines always have. EasyJet perhaps starts with tickets at £19 and as the seats sell they go up. I've seen the last seats on the same flight sell for £200. In fact one time when I was booking flights for 7 people it's should have been £140 but my checkout kept coming up with £170. In playing around with numbers I found the first five seats were £20 each but seats 6 and 7 had increased to £35 each.

National Express do similar as well.

That's a different situation and yes that happens regularly. Most airlines tell you how many seats are still available on each fare tranche if there are only a couple left.