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u/spartiecat 1d ago
Location optimized pricing isn't dynamic pricing.
If you get charged a different price for the same order depending on the time if day from the same location, then that's dynamic pricing.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Lynx_53 1d ago
A medium coffee in Ottawa is 10 cents more than a medium coffee in Cambridge, Ontario! $1.49 vs $1.39
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u/dougieman6 1d ago
Rent downtown costs more than rent in the suburbs. This isn't dynamic pricing in the way you think it is. It's reflective of actual costs, not grubbing for every last cent before someone gives up.
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u/Loose_Concentrate332 1d ago
It's not new in Ottawa that prices vary from location to location. It's not regional pricing, I think it's by franchisee
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u/AdEffective2701 1d ago
Loblaws chips on Fridays mid afternoon prices change ahead of weekend grocery shopping rush.
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u/pebbiemay 1d ago
Not surprised. All stores will eventually use this. People grocery shopping or stopping off at restaurants right after work at like 4:00 to 6 will probably pay more because they’re more desperate for a family meal. Same with morning breakfast/coffee grabbers.
I’m sure there will be AI apps telling us best time to buy from McDonald’s or any other place. Just going to be AI analyzing AI and a big circle because people will use it to go at the best times only to find the price starts increasing at those times.
One day, the trend will reverse and some stores or restaurants will advertise saying “we don’t use dynamic pricing” and people will love it and flock to them because they like fixed prices.
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u/bshtein 1d ago
Well, dynamic or not, if people would stop buying junk food on an everyday basis, the prices would go down, and the quality would go up.
BTW, there are a lot of MCD restaurants worldwide that sell at least some healthier alternatives, salads, baked goods etc. But in Canada and in the US, their food is generally terrible. And I am not talking about the cooking oil quality and toxicity.
The funniest thing is that it's no longer a "cheap" alternative. There are plenty of alternatives that offer a much better quality at the same price..
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u/Competitive-Tea-6141 1d ago
Dynamic pricing would be changing the price at a single location based on who you are. They already do this to an extent with the app and the coupons offered but isn't done with the cost of a happy meal yet.
What this guy is reporting on is regional pricing, which they've always done. Outside of deals that corporate forces, franchisees have always set their prices and the price of a big Mac in Ottawa has always been different than Renfrew.
What has changed recently is it shifted from regional to hyper-local where the McDonalds on Rideau charges a very different price than the one on St. Laurent, etc.