Let's say you and your friend meet at a cafe on a hot day.

假設您和您的朋友在炎熱的一天在咖啡館見面。

Your friend drove in their air conditioned car while you decided to get some exercise and bike the three miles.

你的朋友開車並打開冷氣，而你決定運動一下，騎自行車騎三英里。

You show up sweaty and out of breath and you both order an ice cold lemonade.

你滿頭大汗、氣喘吁籲地出現，兩人都點了一杯冰鎮檸檬水。

The waiter takes one look at you and informs you that the lemonade will cost twice as much for you as it will for your friend.

服務生看了你一眼，告訴你，你的檸檬水價格是你朋友的兩倍。

Pretty unfair, right?

很不公平，對吧？

If you're thinking, "They can't do that," actually, they can, unless they discriminate by certain protected categories like race, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability, sellers are legally free to charge different prices to different people.

如果你想著：「他們不能這樣做」，實際上，他們可以，除非他們因種族、性別、年齡、性取向或殘疾等某些受保護類別而存在歧視，否則賣家在法律上可以自由地向不同的人收取不同的價格。

It's called personalized pricing or discriminatory pricing.

這稱為個人化定價或歧視性定價。

And it's a way to juice profits by extracting the maximum that people are willing to pay.

這是一種透過提取人們願意支付的最高金額來獲取利潤的方法。

Of course, if they did that out in the open like that, customers would probably be so offended, they'd boycott the place.

當然，如果他們公開這樣做，顧客可能會非常生氣，他們會抵制這個地方。

But when it comes to online shopping, there's no easy way to know whether the price you're shown is the same for everyone else.

但在網上購物時，沒有簡單的方法可以知道您所顯示的價格是否與其他人相同。

Personalized pricing is actually as old as commerce itself.

個人化定價其實與商業本身一樣古老。

For much of human history, most goods were custom-made.

在人類歷史的大部分時間裡，大多數商品都是客製化的。

If you were an artisan hired to make something, you would weigh the complexity of the job, the cost of the materials and the pocket depth of your client before quoting a price.

如果你是受僱製作某樣東西的工匠，你會在報價之前權衡工作的複雜性、材料的成本以及客戶的財力。

But ever since the industrial revolution, mass manufacturing of identical products and the emergence of large retail outlets like department stores have normalized the idea of standardized pricing.

但自從工業革命以來，相同產品的大規模製造以及百貨公司等大型零售店的出現已經使標準化定價的概念正常化。

It wasn't until the late 19th century that department store pioneer John Wanamaker implemented the use of price tags.

直到 19 世紀末，百貨公司先驅約翰·沃納梅克 (John Wanamaker) 才開始使用價格標籤。

A nail in the coffin for the ancient tradition of haggling.

這對古老的討價還價傳統來說是致命一擊。

That's not to say we're not accustomed to some forms of dynamic pricing.

這並不是說我們不習慣某些形式的動態定價。

We know that an airline ticket will cost more the day of the flight and a hotel room will cost more during tourist season.

我們知道，機票在飛行當天的價格會更高，而飯店房間在旅遊旺季的價格會更高。

We know about Uber surges and senior discounts and we know that when we walk into a car lot, the salesman will exploit observations about our income and urgency to squeeze as much money out of us as he can.

我們知道優步的激增和高級折扣，我們知道當我們走進停車場時，推銷員會利用對我們收入和緊迫性的觀察，從我們身上榨取盡可能多的錢。

But when it comes to everyday retail items, we've come to expect that everyone should pay the same price.

但當涉及日常零售商品時，我們期望每個人都應該支付相同的價格。

That may be changing thanks to technology.

由於技術的發展，這種情況可能會改變。

As you probably already know, data trackers follow you relentlessly around cyberspace, monitoring what you read, what you watch and most importantly what you buy.

您可能已經知道，數據追蹤器在網路空間中無情地追蹤您，監控您閱讀的內容、觀看的內容，最重要的是監控您購買的內容。

They remember how many times you looked at that sweater and how long your mouse hovered over the add to cart button.

他們會記住您看了那件毛衣多少次以及您的滑鼠在「加入購物車」按鈕上懸停了多長時間。

All of this personal info and behavior is analyzed by an algorithm that can not only guess what products you'd like, but what you'd be willing to pay for them.

所有這些個人資訊和行為都會透過演算法進行分析，該演算法不僅可以猜測您想要什麼產品，還可以猜測您願意為這些產品支付多少錢。

It's like if the salesman at the car dealership knew everything about you the moment you walked onto the lot.

就好像當你走進停車場的那一刻，汽車經銷店的推銷員就了解了你的一切。

Defenders of price discrimination argue that it can lead to a more efficient market.

價格歧視的捍衛者認為，價格歧視可以帶來更有效率的市場。

Even though some people will see higher prices, others will see lower prices, allowing them to buy things they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.

儘管有些人會看到更高的價格，但其他人會看到更低的價格，使他們能夠購買原本買不起的東西。

For example, price discrimination in college tuition allows universities to offer low-income students scholarships and grants subsidized by the high tuition paid by wealthier students.

例如，大學學費中的價格歧視允許大學向低收入學生提供獎學金和助學金，並以富裕學生支付的高額學費進行補貼。

And there are studies that show that some forms of discriminatory pricing result in higher overall customer satisfaction.

有研究表明，某些形式的歧視性定價會提高整體客戶滿意度。

After alll, in theory, everyone's paying what they think is a fair price, but only when the participants don't know about it.

畢竟，從理論上講，每個人都在支付他們認為公平的價格，但前提是參與者不知道這一點。

As soon as they found out that different people were paying different prices, the majority thought the system was unfair.

當他們發現不同的人支付不同的價格時，大多數人都認為這個制度不公平。

As a paper from Seattle University puts it, "if a transaction satisfies a customer only because of a lack of transparency, one cannot claim that it increases utility."

正如西雅圖大學的一篇論文所說：「如果一項交易僅僅因為缺乏透明度而讓客戶滿意，那麼人們就不能聲稱它增加了效用。」

These justifications aside, there's only one reason a for-profit company would be interested in discriminatory pricin; it maximizes profits.

撇開這些理由不談，營利性公司對歧視性定價感興趣的原因只有一個： 它使利潤最大化。

We're all familiar with the standard demand curve which illustrates the higher you set your price, the fewer people will buy your product.

我們都熟悉標準需求曲線，它顯示您設定的價格越高，購買您產品的人就越少。

With standardized pricing, sellers want to find the highest number that won't scare away too many potential customers.

透過標準化定價，賣家希望找到不會嚇跑太多潛在客戶的最高價格。

But no matter how hard they try to strike that balance, there will always be some customers who would have paid more.

但無論他們如何努力達到這種平衡，總是會有一些顧客願意支付更多費用。

That gap is known as consumer surplus.

這種差距被稱為消費者剩餘。

Consumer surplus feels great.

消費者剩餘感覺很棒。

It's that warm fuzzy feeling you get when the pleasure of a purchase outweighs the cost.

當購買的樂趣超過成本時，您就會感受到一種溫暖而模糊的感覺。

Like the saying goes, everyone loves a bargain.

俗話說，人人都愛討價還價。

Except not everyone. Sellers hate consumer surplus.

除了不是所有人。 賣家討厭消費者剩餘。

To them, that's money left on the table.

對他們來說，那是被遺棄的錢。

In a perfect world, every customer would pay the absolute most they'd be willing to pay so that no one ever feels like they got a good deal.

在一個完美的世界中，每個客戶都會支付他們願意支付的絕對最高金額，這樣就沒有人覺得他們得到了一筆划算的交易。

This is the end goal of discriminatory pricing.

這就是歧視性定價的最終目標。

It's also important to remember that willingness to pay does not always correlate with wealth.

同樣重要的是要記住，支付意願並不總是與財富相關。

Some customers might tolerate high prices, not because they can afford it, but because they're desperate or have few other options.

有些顧客可能會容忍高價，不是因為他們負擔得起，而是因為他們很渴望且沒有其他選擇。

Grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods, for instance, can charge more than those in wealthy neighborhoods because they know the locals have less flexibility to drive around looking for the best deal.

例如，低收入社區的雜貨店可以比富裕社區的雜貨店收取更高的費用，因為他們知道當地人開車四處尋找最優惠商品的靈活性較低。

Discriminatory pricing also violates the principle of informational symmetry.

歧視性定價也違反了資訊對等原則。

In classic market theory, fair prices are set when the parties to the transaction have similar levels of knowledge.

在經典市場理論中，當交易雙方具有相似的知識水準時，公平價格就會被設定。

But while online sellers know everything about us, we rarely know anything about them.

但是，雖然網路賣家了解我們的一切，但我們卻很少了解他們。

We don't really know how much these products are worth, what they cost to manufacture or how big their profit margins are.

我們真的不知道這些產品的價值是多少，它們的製造成本是多少，或是它們的利潤率有多大。

And we certainly don't know what their minimum willingness to charge is.

我們當然不知道他們的最低收費意願是多少。

In fact, the only leverage we usually have is knowing what other people are paying.

事實上，我們通常擁有的唯一槓桿就是了解其他人付出的價錢。

But in the atomized world of the internet where we each inhabit a unique isolated bubble, even that knowledge is hidden.

但在網路的原子化世界中，我們每個人都住在一個獨特的孤立泡沫中，甚至連知識也是隱藏的。

And the battle of information between consumers and companies, consumers are at a huge disadvantage.

而消費者與企業之間的資訊之戰，消費者處於巨大的劣勢。

Discriminatory pricing is still in an experimental stage with many online retailers interested but not quite ready to pull the trigger.

歧視性定價仍處於試驗階段，許多線上零售商對此感興趣，但尚未準備好付諸實踐。

Perhaps out of fear of customer anger. Still, on some sites, you might see lower prices if you use your mobile device instead of a laptop or a Windows PC instead of a Mac.

也許是出於害怕顧客憤怒。 不過，在某些網站上，如果您使用行動裝置而不是筆記型電腦，或使用 Windows PC 而不是 Mac，您可能會看到更低的價格。

For some reason, they think Macbook users have money to burn.

出於某種原因，他們認為 Macbook 用戶有錢可以燒。

You can also try using a private browser to do your browsing so the algorithm won't catch you gazing longingly at that mid-century modern shoe hutch.

您也可以嘗試使用私人瀏覽器進行瀏覽，這樣演算法就不會讓您渴望地凝視著那個中世紀的現代鞋櫃。

And some customers report getting lower prices by visiting competitor sites first.

一些客戶報告說，首先訪問競爭對手的網站可以獲得更低的價格。

A signal that you're a smart customer.

這表示您是一位聰明的客戶。

Another way for consumer to work around discriminatory pricing is through arbitrage.

消費者解決歧視性定價的另一種方法是透過套利。

The buying of goods where demand is low and reselling where demand is high.

在需求低的地方購買商品，在需求高的地方轉售商品。

In this case, customers offered low prices can resell them to customers who are only offered high prices.

在這種情況下，提供低價的客戶可以將其轉售給僅提供高價的客戶。

However, any good algorithm will be able to spot such entrepreneurs and adjust prices accordingly.

然而，任何好的演算法都能夠發現這樣的企業家並相應地調整價格。

As more companies use artificial intelligence to navigate their pricing strategies,

隨著越來越多的公司使用人工智慧來指導他們的定價策略，

we may see a world where prices are constantly fluctuating based on everything from the weather to your mood to what you had for breakfast that morning.

我們可能會看到一個價格不斷波動的世界，這取決於從天氣到您的心情再到您當天早上吃的早餐等各種因素。

One experiment even found that competing pricing algorithms figured out how to cooperate to keep prices high just by observing and reacting to each other's strategies.

一項實驗甚至發現，相互競爭的定價演算法只需觀察彼此的策略並對其做出反應，就能找出如何合作以維持高價格的方法。

In the real world, such price fixing is flat out illegal but is it considered collusion when there are no humans involved?

在現實世界中，這種價格操縱完全是非法的，但如果沒有人參與，這是否被視為串通？

Consumers still disapprove of personalized pricing by a wide margin.

消費者仍然很大程度上不贊成個人化定價。

And that may be enough to scare away retailers for the time being.

這可能足以暫時嚇跑零售商。

But as our shopping experience has become more and more personalized, consumers may have to fight back by just communicating with each other about what we think things should cost and that's our Two Cents.

但隨著我們的購物體驗變得越來越個人化，消費者可能必須透過相互溝通我們認為商品應該花費的價格來反擊，以上是這次的 Two Cents 影片。

Thank you to Surfshark VPN for supporting this PBS video.

感謝 Surfshark VPN 支援此 PBS 影片。

Surfshark VPN is a virtual private network designed to keep your online identity safe by encrypting all of the information sent between your device and the internet.

Surfshark VPN 是一個虛擬私人網絡，旨在透過加密您的裝置和互聯網之間發送的所有資訊來確保您的線上身分安全。

Using a VPN when on public Wi Fi can help provide safety while surfing the internet as well as working from home.

在公共 Wi-Fi 上使用 VPN 有助於確保上網和在家工作時的安全。

A lot of online services use sophisticated targeting and tracking services, but a VPN can provide protection from that.

許多線上服務都使用複雜的定位和追蹤服務，但 VPN 可以提供保護。

Surfshark's clean web feature is built to block ads, trackers, malware and fishing attempts.

Surfshark 的清潔網路功能旨在阻止廣告、追蹤器、惡意軟體和釣魚嘗試。

And if you do a lot of international traveling, Surfshark allows clients to change their virtual location.

如果您經常進行國際旅行，Surfshark 允許客戶更改他們的虛擬位置。

It has over 3200 surfers in more than 100 countries, designed to help make sure you can access your home country's features while traveling.

它在 100 多個國家/地區擁有超過 3200 名衝浪者，旨在幫助確保您在旅行時可以存取您所在國家/地區的功能。

To learn more, click the link in the description.

要了解更多信息，請單擊說明欄中的連結。

Thanks to our patrons for keeping Two Cents financially healthy.

感謝我們的贊助者保維持Two Cents 的財務健康。

Click the link in the description to become a Two Cents patron.

點擊說明欄中的連結即可成為 Two Cents 贊助人。

For more about how your online shopping habits are monitored, check out our video, How Retailers Stock You Online.

有關如何監控您的線上購物習慣的更多信息，請觀看我們的視影片「零售商如何線上為您進貨」。