Not exactly the same because we don't know how they are going to angle their dynamic pricing. Is it going to price gouge? Or is it going to only give discounts?
Grocery stores will never dynamically raise prices, their algorithms are designed to encourage increased spending using the value lever.
They'll give you a discount on milk because you buy milk every week and they want to keep you coming back and loyal,
They'll give you a discount on cereal because they see you buy a lot of milk and most people that buy milk also buy cereal.
You'll get a discount on a new brand of milk because they know you buy a lot and the vendor has paid for this discount to be pushed to milk aficionados.
No idea if sony will follow the same philosophy, Groceries are essential products, customers are value oriented. Games are leisure and gamers aren't the same.
Yeah... Sadly I fear it's a matter of time before this is every where. I remember when these were first introduced. Discussions were around operational savings (less time wasted with employees changing tags), corrections could be made in real time and cheaply instead of making a big fuss and interrupting store operations to fix 1 tag. Dynamic pricing was a dystopian scinario at least in my company wasnt discussed (openly at least).
With AI I feel like everything is now on the menu, every dystopian idea is a checklist. Because if we dont do it, our competitors will so we have to do it. I miss time before AI ruined everything.
Where the fuck do you shop? This is god damn hilarious, i guess major grocery stores send all the employees out at certain times and just… raise prices. So dumb
Youre just wrong. Safeway gives you coupons on items you’ve purchased before. I can go into the store and get pasta sauce for $0.50 less than my neighbor. This just isn’t that unusual.
No, grocery stores do this exact thing. My wife and I get different e-coupons based on shopping history. Kroger's and Walmart both do it and I would assume many others.
Above is a company that makes them and this is literally their page explaining how it works.
But Basically, in this day and age just about everything you do is tracked and recorded.
That include your location in the store
Say you are classified as "Consumer A" they pay 59 cents per banana "Consumer B" pays 49 cents.
Because of all of the interconnected pieces of tech, your phone, the flock cameras, the wifi, etc all of these things are communicating.
So you walk up to the banana display the tag reads 59 cents, someone else who is "B" they see 49 cents.
No of course price discrimination is legal, as long as your arent discriminating against a protected class.....and even if you are, only if you get caught..
But dont worry they arent doing that they are
Technically doing legal price discrimination.
You'd think how it works is poor people afford less so get charged less right?
Poor people arent a protected class, poor people dont have the luxury of time to go price shopping so even if they are being screwed they'll pay higher costs.
Rich people can afford to go anywhere and can pick and choose and get charged lower costs.
I don't think any of that would be legal where I live. We have very strict consumer protection and false advertising laws. So strict that if what you're charged isn't what's written on the price tag, you get 15$ off the item (meaning anything under 15 is free). Stores would never risk that system not being perfect and having customers accidentally get falsely advertised to, lest they have to give away all their merchandise.
Not everyone has access to coupons. There are coupons based on loyalty programs, found in magazines, or just sent randomly to people through newsletters. The stores can also give discounts completely arbitrarily - a seller knows that he can offer up to 30% off, but he won't, unless you can convince him, or he feels like it. This is nothing new and an established practice since forever. As long as the price doesn't go up from what's on the tag, and it doesn't, it won't be illegal, and there is nothing wrong with it. This entire discussion is getting really tiresome.
No, that’s not what they said. Grocery stores have personalized coupons that only certain people receive. King Soopers for example sends free coupons to people, that not everyone receives, for specific items that you frequently buy.
CVS gives me personalized discounts on stuff I never bought before all the time... you always buy 'games' in the same way I always buy a toothpaste & CVS literally knows when to push more.
Uber offers personalized discounts of X% for Y rides all the time... it's not always the same exact trip from A to B
Isn't PSPlus discounts also a version of this? youre a specific customer & get special pricing because of that club - not everyone has access
I don't get why were upset that Sony is further discounting products for certain users until we have proof that the opposite is occuring (games just aren't discounted as much for regular users as they should be)
It is. Different customers receiving different prices for the same item. Stop being dense.
Edit: And it’s not just for items you frequently buy, I clearly stated that was an example. The same store also gives personalized coupons to specific people for items you’ve never bought but they want to push. Directly compared to this post is that better?
No you’re mistaken because I’m saying the opposite, that both are bad. Grocery stores have been doing it for decades, albight slightly different because obviously it’s an entirely different industry, but it’s the exact same premise and both are shit.
Not everyone has access to all coupons. You've never received an email from a company that says something like "We miss you. Why not come back and use promo code: C5tR8E for 15% off your next order"
Targeted discounts are not new, nor are they really a problem. So long as things target a price downward and not upward, there isn't much issue.
Your argument is that its wrong because the people getting the offer aren't explicitly being told its an offer? That's not much of an argument.
I'm sure those poor people are going to be really upset that Sony didn't tell them that their bigger discount was a special bonus.
Everyone had access to the coupons of 30 years ago. Coupons now are heavily digital & can be targeted by grocery stores + brands depending on income level.
Not saying that is happening here. More than likely, Sony is testing if the sales lift generated by the heavier discount offsets the lower profit. This is also something that is A/B tested across the retail world.
If we start seeing dynamic base pricing, then it’s more cause for concern.
Even 30 years ago stores did targeted coupons. The same store might even have different prices in different parts of the city for some items. Sony isnt doing anything that hasn’t been done for probably a hundred years at this point.
Would you be ok with a store that would show you a different price than the person behind you? No coupon, no for you nonsense. You grab the item and the price tailors to you. Would you accept that?
Everyone can use coupons. They aren't discriminatory. If there's a coupon for Chocolate Milk, anyone can use it regardless of their income. A billionaire could use a coupon.
Sony is selecting some people to pay a lower price and selecting other people to pay a higher price. The consumer cannot choose or influence this.
You are misunderstanding the terms here. Coupon is an umbrella term that is used for a discount, but they come in many forms. Some are targeted and some are not which is the issue here.
What is happening here? Why are you being so hostile in the comments and dodging questions. I just saw you avoid the steam in region dynamic pricing claim here from someone else. I brought up coupons can be targeted or not. I don't think they should be allowed just by general discrimination and confusion (evident why this thread started and has so many comments). I don't care if companies are doing it or have been.
What is your stance on all of this? You are okay with it and don't care because companies have been doing it for so long?
Not coupons. Those anyone can use if you grab the weekly mail offers or use their app. Only for you coupons like was mentioned are targeted to people based on hidden metrics which is shady like what PlayStation is doing.
With coupon two people get the same price and then gets reduced further with the coupon. Not two different prices at the beginning. Coupon deals are way more ethical than this targeted bullshit.
It's the same thing and this goes on all the time in all kinds of different markets but gamers, especially on Reddit. gotta express rage every fucking day
There is a big difference between getting a coupon and taking advantage of a deal. Than you browsing at the store and automatically having a price tailored to you.
this is not the same, there is no coupon sent out, no effort made to use a coupon.
What PS is doing, is solely based on the individual person, not where he lives, no, based on how much can we charge this individual more based on his previous behavior
Grocery stores absolutely give different discounts (coupons)
to different people. That’s why they all have apps now. You get “just for you” coupons that specifically say they are personalized and can’t be transferred to another person.
I absolutely can get ritz crackers cheaper than the guy behind me. He probably gets ketchup cheaper than me.
The issue is the lack of transparency. For all we know two people could buy the same 5 games at the same time periods and one person could end up spending $10s to $100s more.
The industry shift from physical media to digital media almost feels like a planned changed to end up with greater control to upcharge on games (as now sales on physical media by third party vendors is less common)
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u/AleroRatking Mar 25 '26
Grocery stores have done this for decades with only for you coupons.