10/02/2026
The days of a single, transparent price tag are fading. In the digital era, prices can change by the minute, without warning or explanation. Companies can run price experiments, in which shoppers are given a range of prices at random to determine the optimal price for profitability. Some companies use surveillance or personalized pricing, in which they charge individualized prices based on a customer’s data.
NBC News volunteers saw eight different prices for the exact same Harry Styles ticket on StubHub. The company said it’s running random price experiments.