The End of a Fair Price: Dynamic Pricing and the Normalization of Gouging
3 hours ago
- Neoliberal economists blamed demand for inflation, ignoring that corporations raised prices to boost profits, as revealed by Lindsay Owens' research.
- Owens listened to corporate earnings calls where executives admitted to ramping up prices, debunking the myth of the invisible hand.
- Instacart's personalized pricing led to a FTC investigation after Owens' white paper showed 75% of identical items had varying prices per shopper.
- The book 'Gouged' exposes how pricing consultants like Simon-Kucher advise rivals (e.g., Coke and Pepsi) on price-fixing, and how RealPage's algorithm creates a hard floor for rents.
- Uber's dynamic pricing and personalized wages exploit both consumers and drivers, with take rates increasing significantly after upfront pricing.
- Surveillance pricing uses data from drones, carmakers, and apps (e.g., McDonald's, Starbucks) to hike prices based on consumer behavior.
- Owens proposes a 'Shoppers' Bill of Rights' including upfront pricing, easy cancellations, right to repair, bans on algorithmic price-fixing and surveillance pricing, and fair wage guarantees.