Retailers using US internet shoppers to fix prices

PHILADELPHIA - United States shoppers may be paying different prices for the same goods because of information gleaned from the internet about individual buying habits, a survey shows.

The Annenberg Public Policy Centre at the University of Pennsylvania survey found internet shoppers were vulnerable to "behavioural targeting", in which retailers collect information about what they shop for and how often they do it, and adjust their prices accordingly.

Retailers often use the data to reward frequent buyers with lower prices, a practice of which many consumers are unaware.

The survey, Open to Exploitation, says online stores identify individuals by inviting them to sign in with a password and requiring information such as birth date and ZIP code.

Online retailers can watch and record what products a shopper looks at and whether they started to buy something but did not complete the purchase.

"The survey's findings suggest ... most internet-using adult American shoppers are open to financial exploitation by retailers," said authors Joseph Turow, Lauren Feldman and Kimberly Meltzer.

They warned the trend could become more common as retailers gathered more information about consumers' habits.

"Database-driven price distinctions could spread as growing numbers of retailers use information consumers never knew they revealed to draw detailed conclusions about their buying patterns that they would never have wanted," the report said.

Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, said the practice was just good business.

The Annenberg survey found that consumers were largely unaware of how their names were shared. More than seven out of 10 did not know charities were allowed to sell consumers' names to other charities without permission.

- REUTERS