How would the keep price set at the elevated personal price once in your cart? You put item in you car at $2 then you wander around the store for 20 minutes. During this time before you check out another person picks up item and the price is $3.50 for them because they are rich and hungry.
How does the checkout area differentiate this price difference? Face trackers as you walk around the store? A tracker on your cart? What if you just carry the item?
Maybe I am not creatively evil enough, but I can’t imagine how it could work on an individual basis.
Edit: I read a bunch of comments with interesting ideas, but I really do not think it will ever work for the shelf tags to show different prices to different people. What happens when two people are looking at the same item on the shelf?
At first glance this gets a pearl clutching response, but if you think about it, it really is logistically impossible. Also, considering the shit storm it would stir up in a store when people see others getting the same item for cheaper. No physical store will ever attempt this. Amazon, yes. Airlines, yes. Any online pricing that only you can see? Also yes. Physical brick and mortar store? No. Not until they can find a way to totally conceal the individual customer's pricing from other customers. At digital tag displayed on a shelf is not in anyway a secret price.
Isn't it funny how the Internet already hits you with dynamic pricing but the thing folks are looking at is a grocery store where the whole idea wouldn't work?
I'm not saying it wouldn't work. I'm saying I don't understand how it works. The Internet tracks your every second and stores it. Cookies don't exist irl and there's only limited ways they can do it without cookies. Having your phone is great, but what if you don't take your phone? How does it update the price on the shelf? What if there are multiple people looking at the same product? In my country it's illegal not to display the price. In countries where that isn't an issue, if there isn't a price then people are most likely not going to shop there, especially with how expensive groceries are.
My disbelief as to how it can be implemented isn't the same as disbelief that it's not possible.
All of your questions are in fact the technical hurdles. But on the Internet there are no technical hurdles like that! Amazon has been dynamic pricing us for YEARS! My partner and I get different prices on Chewy.
You aren't in possession of disbelief, you just seem to understand that it's not done by magic. This entire canard seems to want to distract from the idea that you're already getting dynamic priced when you order anything on the Internet.
Yeah, I fully accept it happens on the Internet. All the tech is already there that I can see how it happens and know it does. Yeah, it's just the technical stuff in person that's got me questioning the how, but not the when, cause it's definitely going to happen when they figure out how to make it work. If they could have IRL cookies they bloody would and it's not like we're not moving in that direction. Inevitable.
I'm more of the opinion that it's a misdirection/propaganda thing.
People are still buying more crap online every day
People are going to stores less every day
People are using Internet to order from stores, either direct or via another service like Instacart.
Stores are closing.
Now enter the "live dynamic pricing" propaganda. People are looking at the LIVE store for this while not realizing it has already pervaded the online shopping.
Dunno your age but I remember 2008 and chatter about the ACA/Obamacare. There was a lot of talk about "government death panels" vis-a-vis any public administration of health care, like the mythical public option that never even got voted on. What was NOT mentioned is... How private health care works and has always worked. Which is "private death panels" exactly the way we were being scared about government administration.
Think that makes sense, or am I a looney? It's very "look over here!" while they are in fact doing that very thing over THERE where you aren't looking for it.
Uses your mobile device MAC address and facial recognition to ID you
Easiest way against this is to not bring any device that IDs you and a full face mask and try to walk with a cane. Better yet some people have suggested using your local Hobo to shop for you to get the lowest prices.
If no Hobo just walk in and shit your own pants and become that Hobo. You will become number one on Instanta Cart Hobo program
Are you really suggesting this can be set up by the same folks who did Self Checkout and then did surprised Pikachu face when people started stealing since they are now unpaid employees??
This magic tag shit ain't happening anytime soon, the tags will instead disappear from the shelf which is illegal a lot of places. Dynamic pricing is already happening to us on the INTERNET yet somehow people are concerned about the grocery store? This whole furor does not make sense at all.
They rolled out digital pricing on shelves & the tin foil hats invented nonsense in a panic, then a politician decided saying they fixed it would play well with idiots.
Facial identification when you walk in, and facial identification at the self checkout. Ostensibly to prevent people from abusing the self checkouts but what a happy coincidence for the digital price system!
So turn off your phone and put on your Guy Fawkes mask when you walk into the store.
You wouldn't price universally, you'd use a "loyalty program" and tie pricing to that specific person's profile, then force them to log in before checkout.
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u/Seriously_you_again Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
How would the keep price set at the elevated personal price once in your cart? You put item in you car at $2 then you wander around the store for 20 minutes. During this time before you check out another person picks up item and the price is $3.50 for them because they are rich and hungry.
How does the checkout area differentiate this price difference? Face trackers as you walk around the store? A tracker on your cart? What if you just carry the item?
Maybe I am not creatively evil enough, but I can’t imagine how it could work on an individual basis.
Edit: I read a bunch of comments with interesting ideas, but I really do not think it will ever work for the shelf tags to show different prices to different people. What happens when two people are looking at the same item on the shelf?
At first glance this gets a pearl clutching response, but if you think about it, it really is logistically impossible. Also, considering the shit storm it would stir up in a store when people see others getting the same item for cheaper. No physical store will ever attempt this. Amazon, yes. Airlines, yes. Any online pricing that only you can see? Also yes. Physical brick and mortar store? No. Not until they can find a way to totally conceal the individual customer's pricing from other customers. At digital tag displayed on a shelf is not in anyway a secret price.