1 week Ago By By Dan Gavin and Tom Jewkes The Cyberguys
Tom and Dan want to surprise their families with a new, state-of-the-art TV, so they conduct research to see which system is best. Coincidentally, they settle on the same model. Tom decides to stop by Target and check out the model in person, but he changes his mind just as he arrives.
Sitting in the Target parking lot, he orders online with free shipping for a total of $1059. Dan, meanwhile, doesn’t drive to the store. Instead he sits before his living room computer and orders online—plain and simple.
Both men place order from the same site at the same time. But Dan is only charged $959. How is this possible? Welcome to the wonderful world of surveillance pricing.
In the above scenario, the retailer tracks prospective customers’ location data and notes that Tom is sitting just outside the store. Therefore, he is likely anxious to buy; therefore, he is likely to settle for a somewhat higher price. And the algorithm shifts things accordingly.
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