this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2024
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] [email protected] 147 points 4 months ago (3 children)

For the love of anything holy. Then they'll require to install a shitty app to shop at the grocery store in the first place. No, thank you

[–] [email protected] 83 points 4 months ago (8 children)

I shop at Jewel (which is currently under threat of being taken over by Kroger) and they're now doing this thing where there will be, for instance, peaches, under a huge sign showing an incredible deal. Then you look at it and realize that the price isn't discounted at all unless you install a "Jewel App" and use it to "claim" a "digital coupon."

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Two major supermarkets do this in the UK now. I fucking hate it, it should be illegal. I also noticed recently a store with digital price labels. Combine the two and we're marching towards the news in the post at a breakneck speed.

Many supermarkets do adjust their prices based on the average income of the location they're in, so this isn't really different in some ways.

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[–] [email protected] 95 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

If you’re on the billionaire whitelist, you pay even lower than the people in poverty.

[–] [email protected] 123 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Saw an interview with a guy (on Bloomberg actually) who explained that "ability to pay" and "willingness to pay" are two different things and that the pricing system doesn't target people who have a lot of money ("ability to pay") but rather people who have fewer options.

Like, if the app knows that you don't have a car and this is the only grocery store you can walk to, you will pay a higher price.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 81 points 4 months ago (7 children)

don't worry. prices will come down when albertsons and kroger merge. large corps are just more efficient.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago

They treat their workers better, too. And pay them more. /s

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 4 months ago (1 children)

This way maybe a banana could cost $10

[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Is that... Is that not what it costs now?

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

If this happens... You can bet your ass my unemployed relative is going to be the one buying all the groceries with cash.

No cash? Well it turns out the untaxed gift allowance is $18,000, or $1500/mo, more than enough for all the groceries of a large family.

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 4 months ago (1 children)

So instead of taxing millionaires fairly... It's come to this.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago (1 children)

How much could a banana cost? Ten dollars???!!!

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Then they get mad when people start stealing shit

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Demonstrating the inherent contradiction of capitalism in practice.

Capitalism is allegedly the only fair way to price things, via the "Price Mechanism". However, capitalists have simultaneously been creaming their pants at the idea of charging specific people or people in specific situations more, because they can get more profit, in service of Profit Maximization.

I'm sure I'll get a lecture on how they are not at all mutually exclusive but I don't care, honestly. It's either going to price gouge when the customer is perceived to be in more need (low battery pricing for taxi apps) or have a price based on the customer's ability to pay... at which point why not socialism?

Essentially, the capitalist will support what is best for themselves and make up reasons why it theoretically might benefit consumers (but not really).

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (5 children)

When people talk about the benefits of capitalism, what they're generally really talking about are the benefits of perfect competition.

The capitalists themselves, of course, absolutely hate perfect competition with the burning wrath of a thousand suns.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 months ago (2 children)

This isn’t new. Websites have had higher prices when browsed with a Mac than when browsed with Linux.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Interesting. Progressive private taxation.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

All this time I thought we'd eat the rich. Turns out they'll eventually just eat each other instead.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Will? They have feasted upon us.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

Also known as wealth hoarding.

The rich get richer...

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)

I think it's cute that people think the dynamic pricing is charging the poor less,

If you see someone shoplifting anything from Kroger or one of their subsidiaries, no you didn't. Now cause a distraction while that shoplifter does the Lord's work.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 months ago (15 children)

New fashion trend just dropped:

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago (9 children)

This is why so much money is being pumped into AI. This is the future and our politicians are too old to understand any of it. It isn't sentience you should be worried about folks.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (17 children)

Yup too many people worry about what happens after AI gains sentience. When we need to worry about what happens before.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago

I would walk up to a homeless person and invite them to shop together. They can get some for themselves, and I can pay them while saving money

[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago (1 children)

What the hell is wrong with these people. How the fuck isn't this illegal and punishable by life imprisonment?

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Security cameras feed goes through an AI model to classify customers into wealth bands based on appearance, and continually updates the e-ink price labels nearest each customer accordingly.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

It's perfect. This is the market segmentation dream. Segment the market without having to spend the resources to create different versions of the product for each segment. Just change the price per segment! 🥰

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago (3 children)

If this were just "it costs more to be rich" I'd be all for it, but more likely it's just about jacking up prices based on other factors. So it'll probably hit poor people, too, by charging more for things they want more, forcing them to give up other stuff they want less.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I’m ok with higher income people paying higher taxes as long it is to the benefit of society. The case in this post it is just to line the pockets of extremely rich people.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Agreed. This is not a wealth tax, this is the rich realizing that they've squeezed nearly all they can out of the lower classes. They must now pivot to squeezing the middle class harder to continue building their dragonesque hoard.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Airlines have been doing this for years.

Browser ID say you’re using a Mac? Higher price for you since you must have a higher income.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago

I'm less worried about the idea that people are charged groceries based on income and more worried based on need.

Will the person who buys cigarettes twice a day pay more than the person who pays once a fortnight because it's clear that they require it more? Will the shopper of the family of 6 pay extra because they don't have the time or energy to drive to the next place that offers groceries without this system?

Introducing this based on income seems like a sugarcoating of something far more insidious.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Thats not the way it will work. They will give discounts to the rich and charge the poor more. This is essentially what dollar general is. A added cost for being poor.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

More like... "We have established your low ability to complain and will be raising the price.... Suck it"

Can't wait till it gets to the Health industry.... Oh, wait...

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (7 children)

I am going to go to Kroger, speak with the manager, and scream loud enough while complaining for the entire store to hear, and never return the first time this happens.

I'm lucky enough to have options. A lot of small towns aren't. This idea needs to die fast, and it won't unless we are loud and borderline violent in pushing back against it. Tank their sales and reputations as quickly as possible.

Edit: because people think I hate th manager, changed wording. And yea, it sucks that I can't scream directly at the CEO, but if you've silent, this gets implemented with no friction at all, and they declare it a success.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 months ago (6 children)

The barely above minimum wage manager doesn't make these decisions and all you gain from screaming at him is bringing down the mix of everyone around you.

The best way to handle this is to not shop at Kroger. Not when they start doing it. Now. Kroger won't get my money until they publicly admit this is a bad move and walk it back before it happens.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I think the implication of screaming is more to let the whole store know just how exactly fucked this idea is, to get everyone talking about it. Yea the manager doesn’t make the decisions but if he hears no push back, the rich fucks at the top sure don’t.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago

From each according to their ability; to each according to their greed.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago (2 children)

the only innovation capitalism breeds is new ways to overprice stuff

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

This seems like it should be illegal.

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