Dynamic pricing in the grocery store stealing from the consumer!

[Margery]

This morning as I puttered about I was listening to Hope and Larry from Under The Median - a YouTube channel devoted to living frugally and staying under budget and they had something new to watch out for. DYNAMIC pricing.

Here's their episode btw: How New Store Pricing Trends Are Affecting Frugal Shoppers

They covered STRETCHflation in which the manufacturers and stores give you more, but use it as an opportunity to raise the unit price or price per oz or gram. Because you aren't used to buying the bigger size and are conditioned to think it's usually a better deal, you can miss the jacked up unit price.

AND SHRINKflation which we've all seen when Costco as a recent example reduced the amount of toilet paper on their rolls of Kirkland TP, keeping the number of rolls the same in the case and charging the same price. Same price, less product. As seen with the lb of bacon or 500 gram pack, now down to 10 oz or 350 grams. Coffee, cereal etc. This has been going on a long time (I remember it in the early 70's)

But the big elephant in the room is DYNAMIC PRICING defined here: Dynamic pricing may boost retailers but put consumers in the dark

which essentially means that digital price labels on the shelf are constantly subject to change, which means the price could go up from the time you put it in your cart and the time you go thru the checkout. SCARY!!!

This is being done in Walmart as seen in this article here: Walmart is shifting to digital prices across the chain's 2,300 stores. Here's why. and Walmart "reassures" consumers they won't "use the technology for dynamic or surge pricing, when retailers or other businesses quickly change the cost of products or services based on fluctuations in demand due to weather, traffic or other issues."

YEAH RIGHT!!!

So just a heads up for all of us who grocery shop on a budget!

 

[Margery]

BTW one of the tips I use is my iPhone camera.

If I suspect the price might be subject to arguments at the till (or even if I just want to track prices for a while) I use my phone to snap a photo of the store shelf tag and the item in question.

It helps me double check the prices as the checker rings it thru, or afterwards scanning the receipt before I leave the store so I can bring it up to the complaints desk.

But I also use this technique to keep a record of the usual store price on stuff I buy most often. That way I know if a sale is worth stocking up on. I keep a little entry in my Notes app on my phone and enter the prices

AS WELL as any good sale prices I hit. That way I know coffee pods go on sale about every 6 weeks to 2 months and not to buy much more than I can use in that time frame.

 

[Tall Timbers]

BTW one of the tips I use is my iPhone camera.

If I suspect the price might be subject to arguments at the till (or even if I just want to track prices for a while) I use my phone to snap a photo of the store shelf tag and the item in question.

I've done that a time or two, but I guess if I enter a store with digital pricing then I'd better snap a photo of the price of everything I put in the cart...

 

[Margery]

I've done that a time or two, but I guess if I enter a store with digital pricing then I'd better snap a photo of the price of everything I put in the cart...

That might be the only option, with a time and date stamp on it to be extra sure.

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

BTW one of the tips I use is my iPhone camera.

If I suspect the price might be subject to arguments at the till (or even if I just want to track prices for a while) I use my phone to snap a photo of the store shelf tag and the item in question.

It helps me double check the prices as the checker rings it thru, or afterwards scanning the receipt before I leave the store so I can bring it up to the complaints desk.

But I also use this technique to keep a record of the usual store price on stuff I buy most often. That way I know if a sale is worth stocking up on. I keep a little entry in my Notes app on my phone and enter the prices

AS WELL as any good sale prices I hit. That way I know coffee pods go on sale about every 6 weeks to 2 months and not to buy much more than I can use in that time frame.

I hate shrinkflation as well

 

[Baby Yoda]

I have seen reports of dynamic pricing in restaurants, especially fast food.

 

[Tall Timbers]

I have seen reports of dynamic pricing in restaurants, especially fast food.

Beware of places with digital menus/menu boards I guess...

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Pretty soon, it'll be pay as you enter/order or go through the store.

When I was in Israel, Inflation was so horrible, one paid when ordering, as prices were constantly rising fast enough that the meal would be a lot more expensive if one paid at the end.

Then they devalued the Sheckel and replaced it with NIS (New Israel Sheckel). Inflation was still bad. It was best to keep foreign currency and then exchange just enough for one's purchase. Money changers on the street gave the best rates and no service charge. IIRC, British Pounds were the best to hold. Also Norwegian Kroner and US Dollars.

EDITED TO ADD: A lot of places took foreign currency, and it was usually a win-win for both parties

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

@Margery @Baby Yoda @Tall Timbers I'm glad you posted this. I thought the price was higher at the window than when I ordered at McDonald's awhile back, but since everything's computerized and they use pictures instead of numbers, I figured the cashier was right and I had looked at the electronic menu wrong or misremembered what I read

I guess the drive-thru line will move a LOT slower when prices are rising, and very quickly when they're going down (or they won't use dynamic pricing then).

PIG IN A POKE!

 

[Tall Timbers]

@Margery @Baby Yoda @Tall Timbers I'm glad you posted this. I thought the price was higher at the window than when I ordered at McDonald's awhile back, but since everything's computerized and they use pictures instead of numbers, I figured the cashier was right and I had looked at the electronic menu wrong or misremembered what I read

I guess the drive-thru line will move a LOT slower when prices are rising, and very quickly when they're going down (or they won't use dynamic pricing then).

PIG IN A POKE!

I usually order through the McD app and I know exactly what the items I tend to order cost. Whenever the price is higher I walk out or change my order to something that costs less. I pinch pennies.

It would seem to me that people would not appreciate dynamic pricing and the discovery of such might just cause their habits to change, which wouldn't be good for the companies experimenting with this.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I usually order through the McD app and I know exactly what the items I tend to order cost. Whenever the price is higher I walk out or change my order to something that costs less. I pinch pennies.

It would seem to me that people would not appreciate dynamic pricing and the discovery of such might just cause their habits to change, which wouldn't be good for the companies experimenting with this.

Except when the bars close and the White Castle, Taco Bell, etc. drive-thrus are it.

I expect that dynamic prices will likely mirror Uber, etc. "surge pricing."

That has had the unintended consequences of encouraging some people to take a chance and drink/drug-and-drive instead of taking an Uber, or calling a real cab, which companies Uber, Lyft, etc. have been trying to put out of business from the beginning

Wonder what the unintended consequences of dynamic pricing at fast food will cause? More people eating at home? Ordering pizza? Eating at regular sit-down restaurants since that may be about the same or even cheaper than fast food? Food trucks and cart vendors out later? Bars actually serving real food? Bars staying open later to serve said food, although no alcohol served after a certain time? Dynamic prices becoming sale prices because so much business lost?

 

[Tall Timbers]

Except when the bars close and the White Castle, Taco Bell, etc. drive-thrus are it.

A couple hours or so after the bars close I'm waking up to start my next day.

I do remember when I worked the "graveyard" shift in a couple of 24 hour restaurants how busy it would get starting a little after 2 am until maybe 3:30 am or so.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Beware of places with digital menus/menu boards I guess...

Was about to mention this TT. This allows for the dynamic pricing (basically raise the cost temporarily) geared towards certain high times of purchasing such as breakfast, lunch and dinner times. The need to eat is leveraged to stick it to the customer.

I have noticed that common items I shop for tend to be less expensive in stores located in a poorer neighborhood than a wealthier ones however, better cuts of meat are located in the wealthier neighborhoods.

Resell food stores don't seem to engage as much in dynamic pricing (at least in my area) other than a little higher pricing for items that tend to be more popular/expensive.

 

[Margery]

Was about to mention this TT. This allows for the dynamic pricing (basically raise the cost temporarily) geared towards certain high times of purchasing such as breakfast, lunch and dinner times. The need to eat is leveraged to stick it to the customer.

I have noticed that common items I shop for tend to be less expensive in stores located in a poorer neighborhood than a wealthier ones however, better cuts of meat are located in the wealthier neighborhoods.

Resell food stores don't seem to engage as much in dynamic pricing (at least in my area) other than a little higher pricing for items that tend to be more popular/expensive.

It makes sense.

I hadn't thought beyond the grocery store. G and I rarely went out and when we did we went to a place with a printed menu with the prices right on it. A nice local diner. I was there with the kids a couple of weeks ago and thankfully all is the same. They do reprint the menu and the prices have gone up but not between ordering and getting the food.

I should look and see if our McDonalds is doing that because that is the only other place I go to.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Dynamic pricing also happens online. In some cases if it's known that you are a wealthier person you will be charged higher prices than your neighbor who may be on food stamps. This would be why companies are biting at the bit to buy personal information of their customers.

And this type of pricing is why I pray for the Lord to lead me to the good deals....which He's so faithful to do.

 

[Tall Timbers]

Dynamic pricing also happens online. In some cases if it's known that you are a wealthier person you will be charged higher prices than your neighbor who may be on food stamps. This would be why companies are biting at the bit to buy personal information of their customers.

A wealthier person may be a more careful shopper (price-wise) than a person on the lower end of the economic scale. I think the collection of a consumer's spending habits could/will be used against them. I know people that buy what they want without paying any attention to the price. Then there are people like me who pass over anything that's over a pre-determined fair price.

 

[Everlasting Life]

....pass over anything that's over a pre-determined fair price.

I call those (especially the 'sale' items that are not really on sale), the 'new deals'.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I call those (especially the 'sale' items that are not really on sale), the 'new deals'.

Just like "new and improved" isn't ever

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

A wealthier person may be a more careful shopper (price-wise) than a person on the lower end of the economic scale. I think the collection of a consumer's spending habits could/will be used against them. I know people that buy what they want without paying any attention to the price. Then there are people like me who pass over anything that's over a pre-determined fair price.

If people's buying habits are used as criteria for whatever adverse action, TPTB may well target poor people. OTOH, they may not, since poor people are already dependent on food stamps, etc.

A lot of people on the lower end of the economic spectrum really don't have a lot of choice in where to shop, and prices are often higher and item choices very limited when there's only one place to go, it's not a real grocery store or a nice big box store, and/or high rates of shoplifting and other crime.

 

[Baby Yoda]

should look and see if our McDonalds is doing that because that is the only other place I go to.

It was a big deal a few weeks ago locally, Wendy's said they were going to start changing prices at different times of day. There was so much backlash that I believe the entire plan was scrapped.