Welcome to the future. Yes, your browsing activity is being tracked. And yes, you may actually pay more for an item online because of your search behavior, demographics, and psychographics. And it’s all perfectly legal. Kind of sleazy, but well within the rights of e-commerce retailers. It’s kind of like if you were to enter a brick and mortar store and they scanned you first. Then every price you saw as you walked through the aisles would be based on maximizing profit for the store.
Surveillance pricing heavily relies on data collection, often from customer actions (e.g., browsing history, purchase behavior), and market conditions to optimize pricing strategies. Websites and apps track users’ browsing history, actions, and interactions (e.g., what products they view, how long they stay on a page, items added to the cart, abandoned carts, etc.). Cookies and tracking pixels allow companies to collect information on user behavior across sessions and even across different websites, providing insights into preferences and purchase likelihood. Some companies also use location data to adjust pricing based on regional demand or consumer location.
Companies can also purchase data from third-party brokers that aggregate consumer information from multiple sources, including online and offline behaviors, for more granular targeting. So yes, they do know a lot about you and may or may not adjust the pricing that you see when shopping online. It’s important to note that not all online retailers engage in surveillance pricing. But it does appear that the trend is growing. You can read more about this practice in this report from the FTC.
The collection of such data can raise privacy concerns, especially with tools like cookies, geolocation tracking, and social media monitoring. Many companies must comply with privacy regulations (like GDPR or CCPA), and consumers can often opt out of certain data tracking practices.
If you want to limit tracking of your browsing habits, you can regularly clear your browser history, consider using a VPN, or simply browse in incognito mode. Also, keep in mind that using the store app provides retailers with even more predictive behavior information about you.
