00:00The price you see on the shelf may not be the same by the time you get to the register,
00:04and may be a different price from someone else. Same store, same item, a different price for you
00:09specifically. Here's what's happening. So you know how a pushy car salesman sizes you up before
00:14quoting you a price? Well, surveillance pricing is just that, but automated, invisible, and running
00:19across hundreds of stores all at once. Retailers collect your location, browsing history, purchase
00:24history, and even what you left in your cart without buying. The goal? Figure out how much you'd pay for
00:30an item and then charge it. In 2025, the FTC found 250 plus retailers already using outside companies
00:36like McKinsey, MasterCard, and JPMorgan Chase to run these systems. One example they flagged with
00:41online shopping was new parents getting shown higher priced baby thermometers at the top of
00:46their search results. How does it know? Well, they bought diapers last week and searched for formula
00:50the week before. The system decided a new parent with a sick baby probably isn't going to be
00:54shopping around. So you might be asking what runs all of this? Artificial intelligence. AI algorithms
01:00adjusting the price you see in real time. Walmart is putting electronic shelf labels in 2,300 stores
01:06this year. They update remotely in seconds, meaning if the store knows who you are, your price could
01:11change before you even reach the register. Maryland has banned it in grocery stores and 20 plus other
01:17states are also working on a ban. Consumer groups and state attorneys general call it price discrimination,
01:22using your own data against you. But supporters and retailers say that the system can lower prices
01:28too, offering discounts to shoppers the algorithm identifies as likely to walk away. So should this be
01:34banned federally right now or have we been handing over our information for so long that we only have ourselves
01:39to blame?
01:40Thanks for listening to you today.
01:40Thanks for sharing.
01:40Thanks for having me!
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