January 20, 2026
Marketplace recently published an article featuring Garrett Johnson, Associate Professor of Marketing, discussing “surveillance pricing,” where companies use consumer data to charge different customers different prices for the same item.
While price variation isn’t new, today’s retailers rely on detailed data—such as browsing history, purchase behavior, loyalty programs, and location—to estimate what shoppers are willing to pay. Though the practice is legal and can sometimes benefit consumers through targeted discounts, it also makes it harder to know whether you’re getting the best price. In one example, Walmart listed different prices for the same toothpaste depending on whether a shopper was signed into an account.
Johnson notes that the impact of price discrimination isn’t universally negative, but it does put more burden on consumers:
“Price discrimination sounds really scary, but effectively it means that it’s good for some consumers and not so good for others. So you can open the website in incognito mode, using your mobile phone, you know, maybe even turn off your Wi-Fi
Overall, the article highlights the growing opacity of algorithmic pricing, where companies know more about consumers than ever, while shoppers have little insight into how prices are set.
