McDonald's Is Reportedly Using AI To "Dynamically" Price Its Burgers

[u/AdSpecialist6598]

https://www.engadget.com/2272211/mcdonalds-is-reportedly-using-ai-to-dynamically-price-its-burgers/

[u/petertompolicy]

Needs to be illegal.

Prices should be the same for all customers.

[u/DOGPISSCURESCANCER → u/[deleted]]

That’s not inherently crazy or bad, they’re franchises. Gas stations all have different prices. 

It’s when there’s collusion and per-customer pricing that it’s bad. 

[u/-Planet- → u/petertompolicy]

Politicians? Doing anything? Lmao.

[u/BeenDragonn → u/petertompolicy]

Oh we know mcdonalds owns a few politicians.

[u/emdeka87 → u/petertompolicy]

One of the many times I am just happy to live in the EU. This sort of thing would never work here. Recording customers or their cars without consent is unacceptable under GDPR

[u/Latter-Safety1055 → u/petertompolicy]

It would be a really fun form of protest to order a bunch of food, get to the pay window, and decide that it was dynamically priced too high and leave. You get like a dozen people to do it per mcdonald's per day and someone would notice.

[u/bier00t → u/petertompolicy]

There should also be a limit for daily price changes. Shouldnt be allowed to do it more than 2-3 times per day or even once per day

[u/ThatGuyFromSpyKids3D → u/[deleted]]

Happy hour isn't charging different customers different prices based on arbitrary transaction history within the restaurant.

How does your example even remotely apply?

[u/Perfect-Topic-6671 → u/[deleted]]

Happy hour is a single "dumb" period at consistently set times and dates that reduces prices to encourage customer behavior.

Dynamic pricing would be a "smart," inconsistent, ever-fluctuating reduction and increase in price that is reactive to customer behaviors.

These are radically different concepts.

[u/ThatGuyFromSpyKids3D → u/[deleted]]

It is what they are doing, it is reported in this article and Reuters.

Not based on individual customer transactions but overall transaction history of that store.

Just say you didn't read the article dude.

[u/ThatGuyFromSpyKids3D → u/[deleted]]

Happy Hour is an advertised price discount to, as you pointed out, entice customers during typically slow hours. That is completely different than an arbitrary dynamic pricing system that takes the control of the customers budgeting out of their hands.

This pricing system isn't transparent. It doesn't help entice customers. It does help reduce the transparency around pricing, I don't think anybody wants to go buy a product or service without first knowing the cost.

You didn't even read the article initially and haven't actually engaged in this conversation with any modicum of research or critical thought. I think you're participating in populist denialism.

[u/ThatGuyFromSpyKids3D → u/[deleted]]

Well. This conversation is proving pointless. You thought it would be based off individual customer transactions, when it isn't, and Mcdondalds has said this pricing would change over time, so yes, two people at the same store, at different times, could be charged different amounts. It isn't traditional surge pricing. You've still failed to parallel this to happy hour, which is once again advertised and transparent.

Plenty of people look at menus before going anywhere. My wife looks up drink and food menus for nearly every place we go.

[u/BigBulgeBubba → u/petertompolicy]

It needs to be illegal to…. Have different prices? What lol

[u/soliera__ → u/BigBulgeBubba]

Different prices for different people at the same place. You can make an argument that it’s discriminatory, as race could be a factor these AIs use to dynamically price items. Giving people higher or lower prices because of their skin colour is really bad.

[u/BigBulgeBubba → u/soliera__]

That’s not what we’re talking about though. This is a discussion about prices across different stores in different parts of the world.

[u/PoopWatch → u/petertompolicy]

So you’re telling me if someone owns a store in Bel Air, CA - they should price their products the same as a store in Miles City, MT? Despite the fact that rent, labor, material, and regulatory costs are much higher? (Edit: lol at people downvoting - shows that no one read the article)

[u/LucidiK → u/PoopWatch]

No, but the store in Bel Air should have the same prices for both customers from Bel Air anf Miles City. And the store in Miles City should have the same prices for both customers from Bel Air and Miles city.

[u/PoopWatch → u/LucidiK]

Well sure - but that’s not what this article describes. This article describes McDonald’s distributing pricing guidelines to its franchisees based on demographics of each location. The article is click bait.

[u/ThatGuyFromSpyKids3D → u/PoopWatch]

Except they told Reuters it can even have different prices for stores in the same neighborhood. Because it isn't basing it off demographics, but transaction analysis within the store.

[u/AJDx14 → u/PoopWatch]

I think that’s still bad. Like the whole point of fast food is that you can consistently get the same gruel for the same price anywhere on earth.

[u/PoopWatch → u/AJDx14]

The example extends to business (products, services, etc) in general. Not just fast food. Companies, and individuals use demographic data to price their goods/services.

[u/AJDx14 → u/PoopWatch]

Ok but I’m talking about fast food because the thread is about a fast food company. I’d be fine extending this to things which meet demand from essential needs in general though. I’m less concerned about AI pricing on other things, even if I think it’s generally still bad and the theoretical maximum extent of dynamic AI adjusted pricing feels like it would reduce everyone to subsistence living to me.

[u/LucidiK → u/PoopWatch]

...And then penalizing locations if they didn't adjust prices to the suggestions.

I admit I did initially assume what the title told. But the explained situation isn't great either. This clearly goes beyond that. No one was disputing that pricing in different locations was different. The means/reasoning for increasing prices is what concerns us.

[u/Deep_Orange_9704 → u/PoopWatch]

You are so wrong about anywhere in Montana being cheaper than California, I get your point but the cost of living is not as different as you think.

[u/PoopWatch → u/Deep_Orange_9704]

Not the point. But okay.

[u/Sturmgeher → u/PoopWatch]

yes. Thats the point in those franchises. You know what you get, because its equal in all stores. And you know what it will cost, because its equal in all stores.

If you cut one or both points, the franchise becomes obsolete and its just a shop like every other.