Surveillance Pricing and the Manipulation of Our Kids

If it hasn’t yet happened to you, chances are very good that it will. You learn that both you and another person purchased the same item at the same place at the same time, and yet the prices you paid were not the same. Surveillance pricing is the practice of using artificial intelligence technologies and consumer data collection to set individualized prices for goods and services. Also known as dynamic pricing, algorithmic pricing, and personalized pricing, companies change prices based on a persons browsing history, location, and device type. In addition, technology is being used to discover your willingness to pay, which is a strategy used to identify the highest possible price an individual will accept before abandoning the purchase. The reality is that these new marketing techniques are being used to sell to you and your kids. Parents, talk to your kids about these tactics and point them out when you see them. In addition, join the effort to enact legislation to end the practice.