Mystery Shopping Becomes More Mysterious

The vast majority of my pricing research has been in the B2B sector, not consumer.  It’s been easy to hire mystery shoppers to visit retail outlets and check prices.  Not any more!

A recent study done by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania titled “Open to Exploitation” shows how much more variable consumer pricing has become.  (Copy of study available at www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org.)  We have all seen the signs in the grocery stores with two different prices; one for store card holders and one for non-holders.  Now the study hints at the extent to which online pricing varies by individual characteristics and behavior.

Researcher Joseph Turow cited examples in an article on CNN.com June 1 “Study:  Shoppers naïve about retail prices online.”  “First-time buyers at a retailer could see higher prices than a firm's repeat customers, and retailers may not offer discounts to consumers who buy the same brands regularly without even looking at alternative products on the same site.” And  “Turow found a retail photography Web site charging different prices for the same digital cameras and related equipment depending on whether shoppers had previously visited popular price-comparison sites.”

He points out that “Changing prices is generally lawful unless doing so discriminates against a consumer's race or gender or violates antitrust or price-fixing laws.”  And the study showed that “… 87 percent of people strongly objected to the practice of online stores charging people different prices for the same products based on information collected about their shopping habits.”

So not only should the buyer beware, but the competitors should too!

Comments

[M Martin]

This is very interesting, I had had no idea this was going on, thanks for the tip

[M Martin]

This is very interesting, I had had no idea this was going on, thanks for the tip

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[retail mystery shopper]

I can understand rewarding loyal customers with best pricing; however, it appears that stores are punishing customers for being brand loyal. If we must spend hours comparing prices just to save a few dollars then we are devaluing our own time. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the companies are devaluing our time. I would prefer to spend my dollars where “all” of my needs are met.

[Mystery Shopper]

I have seen price discrepancies myself and they can be infuriating. The old adage that it is cheaper to keep an existing customer than to lure a new one comes into play here. One would think that the retailers would be more cognizant of this during these tough economic times.

[Lycoas]

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