Overview
- Bank of England economists said AI and big data could let shops charge different prices to different people for the same item at the same time.
- They warned this could widen price gaps, with higher willingness-to-pay households likely to pay more, which could hit many middle-class shoppers.
- The researchers said algorithmic systems may push steeper price rises during high inflation because they can raise markups more quickly.
- The British Retail Consortium said supermarkets do not use and have no plan to use dynamic or surge pricing in stores, and a retail pricing expert said groceries are not adopting it yet.
- Electronic shelf-edge labels that allow near real-time price changes are spreading, and a past CMA review of Oasis ticket sales found no dynamic pricing, leaving the policy debate open.