The OFT has published its report: ‘Personalised Pricing: Increasing Transparency to Improve Trust’ which looks at how consumers’ information, stored in places such as internet cookies, is used and how retailers use data to ‘personalise pricing’.
The OFT issued letters to over 60 leading online businesses to ensure they are transparent with consumers about how they collect and use their data.
Concerns were raised that retailers use information collected about individuals to offer higher prices to specific customers, however, the report confirms that no evidence was found of these practices. Many retailers were, however, found to be using consumers’ information to shape their pricing or place advertisements relevant to their interests. Overall, such targeted pricing can offer benefits to customers, according to the report.
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