Getting a bargain today can feel like hitting a moving target.<\/p>\n
Inflation-weary US customers are fed up with feeling like they\u2019re on an economic teeter-totter. A recent survey found that nearly 70% of Americans are concerned about surveillance pricing jacking up the cost of goods \u2014 although a troubling 20% think the price tags will stay the same.<\/p>\n
The poll,<\/a> conducted by GBAO Strategies and distributed by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, was part of the latter org\u2019s campaign to convince states to ban surveillance pricing.<\/p>\n This algorithm-fueled scheme exploits customers\u2019 personal data to charge different people varying prices<\/a> for the same product. It\u2019s a subset of \u201cdynamic pricing,\u201d a similarly money-grubbing scam where stores use algorithms to change prices based on broader trends and demand.<\/p>\n \u201cElectronic shelf labels are a tool for price gouging Americans \u2013 full stop \u2013 and tech companies market it as such repeatedly,\u201d declared UFCW International Vice President Ademola Oyefeso. \u201cAcross the country, families are having to make tough choices in the grocery aisle every day as a result of sky-high prices, and polling clearly shows that they want these predatory technologies banned.\u201d Liana \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Facilitating the predatory practice are electronic shelf labels, which allow the stores to update the labels in real time, often several times a day. <\/p>\n Earlier this month, a TikTok creator named Kat recalled how she<\/a> thought she was buying $3 shoes at Walmart \u2014 only for it to ring up at nearly $19 at checkout.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s choosing the price based on where I\u2019m standing in the store, and that\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d she declared. Walmart recently patented AI-powered pricing changes<\/a>, sparking accusations of facilitation surge pricing \u2014 claims the company denied.<\/p>\n Interior of a Target, which has been accused of implementing dynamic pricing. Refrina \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Surveillance pricing\u00a0is frequently employed by E-bazaars such as Amazon or Instacart, while dynamic pricing has been used at grocery stores at Kroger and Whole Foods, leaving customers feeling shocked and appalled that different shoppers are paying different prices in the same store.<\/p>\n