Unfortunately, our collective state of sticker “Huh?”
is likely to get worse.
Maybe that new price tag is the result of changing supply and demand dynamics.
Maybe it’s tariffs.
Maybe it’s corporate funny business.
The unfunny part is that it’s impossible for many consumers to know.
You might remember the brief dustup aroundWendy’sanddynamic pricinglast year.
The episode was a sign of the times:Rapid-fire price changesare everywhere.
The pandemic helped firms get more agile at reacting to shocks to the system.
Instability represents a prime opportunity to make adjustments, including to a business' benefit.
Butvariable pricingis creeping across the economy, including places where it feels a little less understandable.
In turn, it’s a moment for a super-dynamic approach to prices.
Second, competitive fluctuations are happening.
Businesses in the same industry tend to have similar inputs, but not always.
How do you do better?
you oughta understand all of those things," Zawada said.
“That’s where technology comes in.
Customers recognize how volatile things are and may expect price changes.
This is the key in of margin-padding some companies did during this more recentepisode of inflation.
And if customers reject the increases, businesses can see that, too.
“What does it do for consumer demand?
How do we balance acquisition and retention?
“We haven’t had a stable environment in a long time,” she said.
Happy hour is dynamic pricing, as are early-bird specials, last-minute flight deals, and flash sales.
But to many people, costs constantly moving up and down feels manipulative.
They’re suspicious it’s going toactuallywork in their favor.
It’s also the case that dynamic pricing isn’t really designed to handle what’s happening now.
Businesses that sell online can change prices quickly, or just ride the wave of the Amazon algorithm.
Consumers are likely to be somewhat understanding that companies aren’t having a good time with tariff-by-tweet.
To blunt any backlash, they may want to pass the buck a bit.
Here’s the tariff.
Here’s the total price that you’re paying,'” Greenleaf said.
It’s not that different from restaurants slapping onegg surchargesearlier this year.
Were wholesaleeggs more expensive?
Was it easy for customers to wonder whether they were justifiably 50-cents-an-egg-at-Waffle House more expensive?
Plus, he said, “you’re able to just blame Trump.”
Not knowing who’s to blame is, of course, part of the problem from a consumer perspective.
“Whereas tariffs can change rather quickly, consumer optimism takes longer to recover,” Greenleaf said.
The past five years have been filled with upheaval, and the chaos feels unrelenting.
It’s understandable people just want their shampoo to cost whatever it costs, no games.
But the economy is increasingly gamified, including on pricing, whether or not people want to play.
Emily Stewartis a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.
