Price fluctuations as a result of algorithms have been found to increase feelings of customer betrayal.

Steven Puetzer/Getty Images

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Steven Puetzer/Getty Images

Price fluctuations as a result of algorithms have been found to increase feelings of customer betrayal.

Steven Puetzer/Getty Images

If you’ve shopped online recently, you may have had this experience: You find an item, add it to your cart, and then when you get around to paying, the price has increased.

You can thank pricing algorithms.

These are computer programs that look at factors such as supply, demand and the prices competitors are charging, and then adjust the price in real time. Now, there are calls for greater regulation at a time when these tactics are expected to become more common.

“A key thing about the algorithm is that given different inputs, like, say, time of day or weather or how many customers might

As retailers roll out their summer shopping specials, they’re also working behind the scenes, planning for the critical Christmas shopping crush.

Last year’s holiday shopping season was a boon for retailers. Mastercard’s Spending Pulse Survey reported an 8.5% sales increase, extending a crucial lifeline to retailers reeling from pandemic, supply chain and inflation-related disruption.

Unsurprisingly, more of these sales were conducted online as e-commerce sales rose 11% year-over-year. In total, online sales accounted for one-fifth of all transactions, a 6% increase since 2019. Buoyed by necessity and convenience, 72% of shoppers are more reliant on online shopping than they were before the pandemic.

Retailers are taking notice, and today’s shoppers have more options and access to information than ever before.

Online shopping is more than a hobby for those who get a thrill out of traversing the biggest mall in the world: the internet. It’s also a sport.

How else to explain Monica Corcoran Harel’s reaction to the news that there’s a flash sale at one of her favorite online stores? “I get very, very excited and incredibly competitive,” she says, hitting refresh over and over to land the best deal. If a family member happens to enter the room while she’s hovered over her computer, “I’m like, ‘flash sale! I have a flash sale!’” ​​In other words: do not disturb.

Corcoran Harel, 53, who lives in the Los Angeles area and runs Pretty Ripe, a lifestyle newsletter for women over 40, has been shopping online for years. She relishes the ability to visit dozens of shops at once, comparing prices before clicking “buy now,” and the promise of