This op-ed by Ariana Aboulafia, originally published in Tech Policy Press on May 28, 2025, examines the controversial practice of surveillance pricing. The piece highlights concerns following Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour ticket sales, where fans noticed significant price discrepancies. Axios reported that there was a $1,200 difference in ticket prices for similar seats at some shows.
Surveillance pricing differs from dynamic pricing by setting prices based not on market demand but on personal data collected and purchased by companies. This method uses private information to infer how much an individual might be willing to pay. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently published a study indicating that retailers often use consumers' personal information to set individualized prices.
The practice has raised concerns among digital rights, antitrust, and privacy advocates. George Slover from the Center for Democracy & Technology notes that surveillance pricing, also known as "bespoke pricing," relies on data such as previous purchases or searches and consumer behavior patterns. These can suggest a customer's susceptibility to marketing tactics.
For further insights into this issue, the full text is available on Tech Policy Press.