So Wrong on Many Levels

Did you know that some large grocery stores can change prices on an item almost instantly charging different prices to different customers?
Two people walk into a large retail grocery store. As soon as they walk in, surveillance systems capture their image and in milliseconds the computer system identifies them, accesses their shopping habits, and how they pay — cash, upscale debit or credit card, lower-budget debit or credit card, or other payment methods that might suggest the customer is just getting by, financially.
Both people select their groceries and head to checkout. Among their respective groceries, they have some identical items, which would not be unusual. Each pays for their items and leaves the grocery store blissfully unaware they might have paid different prices for those same items.
This is called surveillance pricing and most often found in stores that have electronic price tags attached to the shelves. These electronic tags can be changed instantly by the computer system in the store. That same computer system can arbitrarily change those prices based on information about the individual shopper or on demographic data.
The computer system recognizes Person A as having upper level income and might adjust some of the prices upward a bit. Person B is a blue collar worker so maybe the prices stay level or drop a bit. Person C is among a demographic known for shoplifting so their prices could increase some to cover losses. This is likely an over-simplification, but the computer system can make a lot of price changes and the consumer would be completely unaware.
If surveillance pricing sounds a bit like science fiction, it is not and has been utilized for some time – possibly years – while consumers were blissfully ignorant. Stores utilizing this refer to it as surveillance pricing, adaptive prices, personalized pricing, dynamic pricing and more. It all means the same thing – some people pay more and other people pay less.
Some restaurants, especially fast-food restaurants, have been doing the same thing but using a different metric. In these cases prices increase during the busiest times of the day, and drop a bit during off-peak times. Again, the consumer is rarely aware of the practice.
THESE pricing schemes have come to light and some states are addressing the problem.
A recent news article on this very practice reported that a shopper in Oregon utilized a state privacy law to obtain information a nation-wide grocery store chain had on her. She reportedly received a 62-page document that was her profile. Not only is that astounding, she claimed some of the information was not correct.
The Maryland state legislature passed a measure to combat this, but then modified it so much under pressure from lobbyists that protections for the consumer fell by the wayside. Other states, including Georgia, are currently grappling with this.
House Bill 1439 and Senate Bill 164 would prohibit price adjustments based on personal data surveillance. This would apply to retail food stores with over 15,000 square feet in primary food sales or those stores over 85,000 square feet in which at least ten percent of the space is food sales.
In March these bills were undergoing legislative review and current information and status could not be ascertained.
ONE might presume protecting Georgia residents from such predatory pricing measures would be much more important than changing the state flower, but perhaps not. Interested readers should contact their state legislators and request the status of those bills to protect Georgia families.
After all, Georgia voters need groceries and cannot eat the Sweetbay Magnolia.
That’s my opinion.
Andy Kober can be reached by email at andykober@hotmail.com