- Boring Business Nerd
- Posts
- Phone about to die? Uber will charge you more.
Phone about to die? Uber will charge you more.
Uber’s personalized pricing could show you higher prices when you’re most desperate, such as when your phone battery is about to run out.
Kieran Ryan
June 12, 2024
Uber charges you higher prices when you’re most desperate, such as when your phone battery is about to run out.
Lina Khan, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, shared one of the more disturbing things they found when researching personalized pricing regarding Uber prices in this Belgium study:
It was two people at the very same time.
One person had 84% on their battery, and the other had 12%.
The 12% person was charged more from the same location going to the same place.
Personalized pricing, or “surveillance pricing,” was once a theoretical exercise for economists to see whether it created surplus value.
This 2024 MIT study concluded that personalized pricing lowers consumer surplus by 2.5% (consumers are getting less of a deal) and increases overall surplus by 5.2% (businesses capture more value potentially cause they can charge higher prices to those willing to pay more).
We’re now reaching a reality where companies have collected enough data to implement personalized pricing at scale.
Our Picks
Here are today’s recs to help you live a smarter life…
1. The perfect companion for your health journey.
Make fresh-squeezed juices at home. $560 off for a limited time.*
2. Made for movement.
Totally wireless Powerbeats Pro earphones are built to keep you moving. $90 off for a limited time.*
3. For a cleaner, healthier home.
Lightweight for quick, versatile cordless cleaning.*
In Case You Missed It
Head of Macro and Title Inflation — Job title inflation is rising, and the implications are not insignificant.
Ozempic puts "more indulgent" restaurants at risk — A new survey shows some consumers are spending less on eating out at restaurants and ordering takeout.
How Amex is Acquiring Millennial and Gen Z Customers — American Express is seeing the benefits of new cards and increased marketing investments as it adds new millennial and Gen Z customers.
The New York Restaurant Reservation Scrum — Restaurant-goers are spending thousands of dollars to snag reservations in New York on the secondary market.
Nearly 1 out of 12 Auto Loans is now Delinquent — Americans are falling behind on monthly auto loan payments due to higher car prices and inflated interest rates.
Take me to all the daily stories I missed.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for free here.
* denotes a sponsorship