What if a cold drink cost more on a hot day?
Customers in the UK will soon find out. Recent reports
suggest that three of the country’s largest supermarket chains are
rolling out surge pricing in select stores. This means that prices will
rise and fall over the course of the day in response to demand. Buying
lunch at lunchtime will be like ordering an Uber at rush hour.
This may sound pretty drastic, but far more radical changes are on
the horizon. About a week before that report, Amazon announced its $13.7bn purchase of Whole Foods. A company that has spent its whole life killing physical retailers now owns more than 460 stores in three countries....
Together, Facebook and Google receive a staggering 76% of online advertising revenue in the United States.
Mining internet data does not mean it is all mined ... yet.
May this blast from the past inspire the Brits facing surge pricing to cut off the heads of the snakes:
ReplyDeleteJamaican Gas Price Protests, 1999
Jamaican Gasoline Price Riots
BTW -- I first became aware of this from an Uber driver originally from Jamaica.
DeleteHe claimed that the anger in Jamaica was never fully appreciated in America. He also said that the rioting was effective in rolling back prices.
One day we may have a perfect free market capitalist society with no "public" services. A call to the fire department will require you to provide your insurance information, or failing that, you will be directed to a loan officer and subject to a credit check. Private fire departments will advertise their superiority over their competitors. Security companies likewise... caveat emptor.
ReplyDeleteA "Perfect Free Market Capitalist Society" is a string of words that does not mean what it sounds like at first glance.
ReplyDeleteI imagine it would look like Somalia.
ReplyDelete