But here’s the kicker: Clear your cache and cookies or fire up BarnesandNoble.com on another browser and check out that same DVD with a clean slate and it’s back at $12.95. Knowing that online retailers are gaming your shopping habits may leave you feeling miffed, but remember that, really, it’s the consumers who have been gaming the retailers for years by rigorously comparison shopping on the web. Who here has ever stood in the aisles of a big box store looking up product prices on their smartphones? And who here has ever used Priceline or Travelocity? Dynamic pricing is just another escalation in the online shopping arms race. With that in mind, there are, of course, ways to game the system right back. One interesting comment that Lowrey made on OTM struck me in particular: They glossed over that comment very quickly, but the logic seems tenable. Google Chrome, while gaining in market share, has a user base that tends towards the early adopters and potential trend setters—the hipsters of the Internet, if you will (you can take that as self-congratulatory or not). It would make sense to offer discounts to Google Chrome users, since the technologically adventurous tend to be more evangelical about their new discoveries. It’s the same tactic that software developers use when offering previews and private beta testing opportunities to blog owners and those who are heavily active in social media channels. ANNIE LOWREY: Yes so if you use a shmancier browser – – a newer, a more tech-savvy browser like a Google Chrome, as opposed to something like Internet Explorer, yeah, there’s a chance [LAUGHS] that you might be quoted lower prices – – for things, on some goods at least. [LAUGHS] There has been at least one documented case of Google Chrome users getting better deals than Firefox and Safari users, as highlighted by The Consumerist. Apparently, Capital One was offering car loan rates of 2.7% to Safari users, 2.3% to Chrome users, 3.1% to Opera users and 3.5% to Firefox users. Very interesting. So, I guess the takeaway is this:
Whenever you buy something online, let it stew in your cart for a few hours to see if you get any discounts.Use Chrome when shopping. If not for the tech-savvy discount, then for the Incognito mode which may help you sleuth out the actual prices of things.
What I take away is this: while dynamic pricing is nothing new and completely legal, companies need to be careful not to behave too aggressively and risk offending their customers. Dynamic pricing could work in one’s advantage, but personally I’ve only heard negative comments stemming from it. Nobody likes being exploited. Nobody. thanks for the informative article! I never heard about this tactic and it’s shocking to me how they want to milk us for every cent. Although I’m a happy Chrome user who converted others to it I really can’t help but feel that there should be no discrimination between shoppers. Today it’s your browser – tomorrow it might be your perceived income or sexual preference or maybe even worse, your race. I’m okay with having gift cards given to the most loyal or active shoppers but this preliminary profiling does not fit well with me at all And this practice has to backfire at some level. Anyway, thanks for the quick copy edit–fixed! Comment
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