Скачать или смотреть Rip off Britain? Is dynamic pricing out of control??

The Business and Trade Committee is seeking more information from consumers, businesses and advocates in support of a short inquiry into how businesses adjust the prices for the goods and services they provide to consumers. This is known as variable pricing.

Types of variable pricing can include flexible forms of price-setting that can change depending on wider market conditions, known as dynamic pricing. In some cases, prices can also depend on a group or individual’s characteristics or behaviours, known as personalised pricing. Some companies may charge lower headline prices, and then charge incrementally more for connected goods or service, which is known as drip-pricing.

Consumers will interact with variable pricing strategies on a day-to-day basis, with common examples including dynamically-priced airline or entertainment tickets. The pricing strategies that companies employ may be supported by other practices, such as those which seek to shape the online information or choices presented to customers, a practice known as Online Choice Architecture (OCA).

Government and the Competition and Markets Authority are currently considering some of these issues, including through an ongoing consultation on the resale of live events tickets. The CMA is also reviewing dynamic pricing as part of its dynamic pricing project.

We want to know your views on:

What are the reasons that businesses may need to dynamically adjust prices, or offer different prices to certain groups (e.g., a discounted ‘student ticket’ for a theatre show, or surge-pricing on a rideshare or delivery app)?

What are the impacts of dynamic or personalised pricing on consumers, including vulnerable groups? Can variable or dynamic pricing create a ‘poverty premium’ for consumers, creating higher effective prices for people on low incomes?

How do the pricing strategies that businesses employ interact with other aspects of their platform or service, such as the choices presented to customers?

How effective is the UK’s wider competition regime for regulating the pricing practices of businesses?

What impact does dynamic pricing have on business value creation and the overall UK economic growth rate? Could tighter regulation negatively UK investment and growth rates?

Due to a short turn-around on related work on this topic, we would welcome evidence to be submitted before January 30 2025. Witnesses will still be invited to submit evidence until February 17 2025.