Price discrimination is getting smarter — and low-income consumers are paying the price

By Raymond A. Patterson, Professor, Area Chair, Business Technology Management, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
Emily Laidlaw, Associate professor, University of Calgary
Jian Zhang, Assistant Professor of Business Technology Management, University of Calgary

For customers who don’t have the freedom to choose where they shop, technological advancements — particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and intrusive personal data collection — are making price discrimination, inflation and lower-quality goods increasingly likely. Vulnerable consumers are most at risk.

Flexibility-based price discrimination allows companies to charge different people different prices for the same produce or service, based on how easily they can walk away.

When consumers can easily find better deals elsewhere, they hold the power. However, AI tools are…

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