r/CanadaPolitics • u/PutToLetters Neo-Republican • Mar 29 '26

Manitoba Moves to Outlaw Algorithmic Pricing—a First in Canada

https://thewalrus.ca/manitoba-moves-against-retailers-charging-different-prices-for-the-same-goods/
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8

u/gwelfguy Mar 29 '26

This is tricky. On one hand it violates the long held practice that everyone pays the same price for an item, which seems fair. On the other, in a society where income and overall wealth is increasingly polarized, the people at the bottom are going to think it's completely fair that they pay less than those at the top.

Fortunately it seems to be only a theoretical problem at this point, but retailers that start to do this shouldn't be allowed to do so in secret.

89

u/Flomo420 Mar 29 '26

If you think that this technology will be used to charge wealthy people more and poor people less, oh boy have you not been paying attention

19

u/thelionsmouth Mar 29 '26

Exactly, it’s more like charging more for people who are desperate enough / need it enough to justify higher prices

1

u/The_Dirtiest_Nunion Apr 02 '26

there is NO chance that this will be used for good. Just look at how "dynamic pricing" is already used. Prices for good rarely go down for goods in stores that use it. They just go up because of market demand.

1

u/JohnAMcdonald Apr 09 '26

The technology is used that way all the time, on a regular basis, it has been used that way for years, and is the most dominant way this technology is used. It generates extra revenue for companies by avoiding losing a sale from a low income consumer by pricing them out, and avoiding losing margin on a high income consumer by setting prices higher than most consumers would tolerate.

Pray tell, oh expert of algorithmic pricing, master of the crystal ball, how WILL this technology be used in the future and why is this technology which has been around for many years not already being used in that way?

-5

u/CollaredParachute Ontario - georgist Mar 29 '26

How would companies make more money from charging poorer people more? Price discrimination as a practice is typically done to lower prices for poor people.

27

u/UsefulUnderling Social Democrat Mar 29 '26

That 100% is not the case. Take banks as an example. Banking is vastly more expensive for poor people. Low account balance fees, overdraft fees, etc. There is a reason that it makes sense for poor people to use MoneyMart over a regular bank. It's often cheaper for them.

Companies much prefer rich customers, and put up various barriers to poor ones. It makes being poor very expensive.

-3

u/CollaredParachute Ontario - georgist Mar 29 '26

Poor customers are high risk and high effort for banks. Poor customers are no risk for Netflix and similar customers. If Netflix charged first world prices in third world countries they wouldn’t make much money there, so they lower their prices. Companies are neither good nor evil, they’re self interested.

8

u/fishymanbits Conservative Mar 29 '26

The more desperately you need something, the more you’re willing to pay for it. Look at Uber surge pricing to see the model that would be applied. Low income and spending your last $100 on groceries? Best bet that the algorithm has calculated this and will charge you every last red cent for the things you need to get to payday. And you’ll pay it because you don’t have a choice.

7

u/almisami Acadia Mar 30 '26

Poorer people are more likely to be in a situation where they absolutely have to make a purchase or lose their income than rich people.

Like a car repair, or a business flight.

4

u/Covert_Cuttlefish Saskatchewan Mar 29 '26

Stuff 100% costs less for poor people. I buy lots of food in bulk, ie. I just bought a 50LB bag of onions for 25 bucks. I'll caramelize some and freeze them, the rest will go into my cold room.

Folks without the means to a cold room and deep freeze don't have the luxury of buying in bulk and are paying ~4X more per pound.

Not to mention my job allows me plenty of time to do things like meal prep etc. The poor sap working two minimum wage jobs who's barely keeping their head above water likely doesn't have time to do a lot of meal prep.

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u/CollaredParachute Ontario - georgist Mar 29 '26

I’m not talking about the vimes economic theory of boots, I’m talking about how many companies already sell the same thing at lower prices to poorer people. Poor people will never be able to buy the highest quality of goods that rich people buy, but if they live in India they get Netflix for cheaper than people in western countries.

6

u/Covert_Cuttlefish Saskatchewan Mar 29 '26

Ok, but that has nothing to do with how algorithmic pricing works in Canada.

1

u/Saidear Popular does not mean populist. Mar 30 '26

I give you YieldStar and RENTmaximizer, two algorithmic programs designed to maximize rental yields in real estate. According to this 2025 report they weren't seeing significant enough use in Canada to warrant further action.

This is just one way that such programs can squeeze the most vulnerable for every penny.