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美国国家公共电台 NPR--Online pricing algorithms are gaming the system, and could mean you pay more

时间:2023-08-02 15:58来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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Online pricing algorithms are gaming the system, and could mean you pay more

Transcript1

If you've shopped online recently, you may have had this experience: You find an item, add it to your cart, and then when you get around to paying, the price has increased.

You can thank pricing algorithms.

These are computer programs that look at factors such as supply, demand and the prices competitors are charging, and then adjust the price in real time. Now, there are calls for greater regulation at a time when these tactics are expected to become more common.

"A key thing about the algorithm is that given different inputs2, like, say, time of day or weather or how many customers might be showing up, it might decide on a different price," said Harvard economics professor Alexander MacKay.

Theoretically, these algorithms could be good for competition. For example, if one business sets a price, the algorithm could automatically undercut it, resulting in a lower price for the consumer.

But it doesn't quite work that way, MacKay said. In a paper he co-authored in the National Bureau of Economic Research, he studied the way algorithms compete. He found that when multiple businesses used pricing algorithms, both knew that decreasing their price would cause their rival to decrease their price, which could set off a never-ending chain of price decreases.

This, MacKay said, takes price competition off the table.

"Why try to start a price war against a firm whose algorithm will see my price change and immediately undercut it," he said.

The impact of algorithms can be more than just a few extra dollars at checkout3. During the 2017 terrorist attack on the London Bridge, Uber's pricing algorithm sensed the increased demand and the price of a ride surged in the area. Uber later manually halted surge pricing and refunded4 users.

The price fluctuations5 as a result of algorithms have also been found to increase feelings of customer betrayal.

A study published in the Frontiers in Psychology6 journal found that price discrimination led to decreased feelings of fairness and resulted in "disastrous7 consequences both for the vulnerable party and for the performance of the business relationship as a whole."

It's a point echoed by professors Marco Bertini and Oded Koenigsberg in the Harvard Business Review. They wrote that pricing algorithms lacked "the empathy required to anticipate and understand the behavioral and psychological effects that price changes have on customers," and that, "By emphasizing only supply-and-demand fluctuations in real time, the algorithm runs counter to marketing8 teams' aims for longer-term relationships and loyalty9."

MacKay said a few regulations could help avoid some of these consequences and bring competition to a more standard model. The first would be preventing algorithms from factoring in the price of competitors, which he said was the key factor weakening price competition. The second was decreasing how frequently businesses could update their prices, which he said would mitigate10 or prevent a business from undercutting a competitor's price.

Yet ultimately, MacKay said pricing algorithms were only going to get more common.

"Firms are trying to maximize profits and they're trying to do it in a way that's legal and competitive," he said. "It's sort of in your best interest to adopt an algorithm to be able to consistently undercut your rivals to maintain a market share advantage."


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 inputs a8aff967e1649a1c82ea607c881e8091     
n.输入( input的名词复数 );投入;输入端;输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.(变量参数)。 来自互联网
  • Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一,保存以前步骤获得的inputs(变量参数值)到一个文件中去。 来自互联网
3 checkout lwGzd1     
n.(超市等)收银台,付款处
参考例句:
  • Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
  • A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。
4 refunded ad32204fca182b862a5f97a5534c03a2     
v.归还,退还( refund的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Postage costs will be refunded (to you). 邮费将退还(给你)。 来自辞典例句
  • Yes, it will be refunded to you at the expiration of the lease. 是的,租约期满时,押金退回。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话
5 fluctuations 5ffd9bfff797526ec241b97cfb872d61     
波动,涨落,起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
  • There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。
6 psychology U0Wze     
n.心理,心理学,心理状态
参考例句:
  • She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
  • He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。
7 disastrous 2ujx0     
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的
参考例句:
  • The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
  • Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨,血本无归。
8 marketing Boez7e     
n.行销,在市场的买卖,买东西
参考例句:
  • They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
  • He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。
9 loyalty gA9xu     
n.忠诚,忠心
参考例句:
  • She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
  • His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
10 mitigate EjRyf     
vt.(使)减轻,(使)缓和
参考例句:
  • The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
  • Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。
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