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The complicated world of dynamic pricing
Fast food chain Wendy's scared folks recently when it said it was looking at having their prices shift on demand. The FOX 5 I-Team's Dana Fowle takes a look at dynamic pricing and what you can do to get the most out of your money.
ATLANTA - The popular fast-food chain Wendy’s sent a scare through the lunch crowds when it announced it was tooling with using dynamic pricing. That’s where the price depends on the demand at the time. Folks, got pretty upset. Wendy’s says it has no plans to implement this policy any time soon.
But some industries already use a dynamic pricing model. We have come to expect it in some industries like tourism. Airline tickets and hotel room prices spike during Spring Break or over the summer holidays. If you have a PeachPass, the price of the fast lane depends on the traffic. The more people who want to jump into the lane, the more it’ll cost you.
According to a recent survey, 39 percent of companies asked responded that dynamic pricing is a top consideration. So they want to make this work, right? Well, let's get started on learning work-arounds. You can actually use a few online tools to track prices for things you may know you want to buy.
CamelCamelCamel is dedicated to Amazon. It’s free. You just sign up. You can use it as an add-on extension, and it will give you price history charts. Or, you can just drop the Amazon product link into the website’s search bar, and you can get a price history there.
Honey is the same free concept. But it can be used to track prices web wide. It also offers coupons and rewards.
Both price trackers offer deals of the day. If companies are going to participate in dynamic pricing techniques, you can track when the time to buy really is right and work around the busy or peak times.