If it feels like you\u2019re being nickel-and-dimed in every aspect of your life, it\u2019s not your imagination.<\/p>\n
Even McDonald\u2019s is turning you upside down and shaking the loose change from your pockets as you buy that once affordable fast-food feast.<\/p>\n
A new report from Reuters<\/a> says the burger chain is pushing its franchisees to use AI-powered algorithms to set pricing at their locations. The technology analyzes data across 14,000 locations to estimate \u201ccustomer willingness to pay in your area.\u201d<\/p>\n A new report says that McDonald\u2019s is pushing its franchisees to use AI-powered algorithms to set pricing according to what consumers are \u201cwilling to pay.\u201d Hans Lucas\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n For example, the report compares burger prices in Fresno, California. In one location, the McDonald\u2019s mobile app lists a Big Mac at $5.69, while at another location only two miles away, that same burger is $6.89.<\/p>\n That\u2019s pretty outrageous and adds up over time. <\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKirsten Fleming<\/p>\n Now, you have to shop for fast food like you would for a car, comparing prices at different dealerships before you pull the trigger on a purchase. (McDonald\u2019s notes that franchisees have the final say on pricing).<\/p>\n It\u2019s obvious that inflation isn\u2019t the lone culprit for the ballooning cost of living. During Covid, we were all sitting on our couches shopping online, giving brands tons of personal information that was perfectly optimized by all the incoming AI technology.<\/p>\n McDonald\u2019s motto used to be \u201cyou deserve a break today\u201d but thanks to AI surveillance pricing, there\u2019s no break. Maybe even steeper prices. Getty Images<\/p>\n Now shoppers are being subject to surveillance pricing<\/a>, which might not necessarily be part of the everyday vernacular just yet. But it\u2019s widespread across the consumer experience as companies increasingly study the buying habits of people online and then set the rates based on their personal data.<\/p>\n \u201cSurveillance pricing is the intersection of two things Americans hate: being spied on and being overcharged,\u201d Lindsay Owens, author of \u201cGouged: The End of a Fair Price \u2014 and What That Means for Your Wallet,<\/a>\u201d said of the practice.<\/p>\n Shopping from a pricey Apple computer? The brand assumes that you are looser with your wallet. Browsing from a tony location? Surely, you can shell out more scratch for this shirt. Or, if you\u2019re revisiting a site over and over, a company can surmise that you\u2019re eager and charge you accordingly.<\/p>\n And, maybe like in the case of McDonald\u2019s, it\u2019s not always a huge increase. Perhaps it\u2019s just an extra few cents tacked onto your order, here and there.<\/p>\n A customer stops in the drive-thru lane at a McDonald\u2019s in Fresno, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. Craig Kohlruss for CA Post<\/p>\n We keep paying it without objection. And suddenly the extras mount, and those once affordable items are breaking the bank. <\/p>\n It\u2019s gross and unfair, and it makes one pine for the good old days when the price of goods was presented to the shopper in the form of a sticker slapped on by a price tag-gun-toting stock boy.<\/p>\n Even those sticky price tags will belong in the Smithsonian soon.<\/p>\n Supermarkets are moving toward electronic shelves, which allow stores to digitally update prices<\/a> in real time. They could also start utilizing dynamic pricing, which changes depending on the time or day, weather or other factors, as airline tickets already do.<\/p>\n