Users of the popular McDonald's app are calling out the restaurant after noticing some customers were getting cheaper "deals" than others.
Reports came in this week of some heavy users of the app paying more for their deals than others. The reasoning offered for this was those who use the app less were given better deals to tempt them back.
But the fast food giant said its pricing is fair, and it's all laid out in the Ts and Cs.
McDonald's said the price differences were due to the app’s "personalised deals".
"Due to the personalisation of our app, not all customers will see the same deals, and as an example, a deal may be offered to encourage the use of the app on the customer’s next visit.
"Macca’s app users earn points on every purchase and can redeem those points for food and other items, such as our current offer for a Sky Sports Fan Pass."
Marketing lecturer Marilyn Giroux told Seven Sharp that what McDonald’s is doing is "totally legal" and a "classic style of personalised pricing".
Personalised pricing is where a company takes users' data to understand their habits and come up with individual prices - hence the cheaper deals.
"It's part of dynamic pricing, but it’s even more personalised to the individual," Giroux said.
Corporations have been practising dynamic marketing for a number of years, with prices changing depending on the time, weather or what day it is.
Concert organisers and sports teams commonly use dynamic marketing.
"They would change the price based on demand, but what we’re seeing more are these aspects of personalised pricing.
"So they’re using your data in order to make a price that they think is going to attract you," Giroux said.
She said the rise in technology has given companies leeway to engage in these types of sales - which improve their bottom line.
"It could go very positive," Giroux said.
"For a lot of companies, it’s a way to drive sales so that they will actually give prices to people that are maybe not tempted to buy.
"It could be a way to get sales they normally might not get."
As for the ethics of personalised pricing, Giroux said that while it can be “a bit blurry” sometimes, “as long as they’re being transparent about the fact that they’re using personal data a company can do that no problem.”
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