Both use algorithms to change prices, but only one asks what will you personally pay.

The Core Distinction

Dynamic pricing asks what a hotel room, seat, or case of water is worth right now, given supply, demand and inventory. The answer is the same for everyone standing in the same conditions at the same moment. Concert tickets, airline fares, rideshare surge pricing and hotel rates are classic examples. When demand spikes, prices rise; when demand falls, they drop.

Surveillance pricing asks a different question entirely: what is this particular person willing to pay? The data inputs are personal – browsing history, purchase patterns, geolocation, device type, how long a customer hovers over an item before moving on, as well as readily available information from consumer data brokers. Two people can visit the same website at the same moment and see different prices for the identical product, with no discernible market reason for the gap. In previously reported cases this was seen with MAC users being displayed higher prices than PC users for airline tickets. In its simplest view, it can sometimes be seen by selecting various store pickup locations when shopping online – picking up from a store in a more affluent area will cost more than in other neighborhoods.

Data Makes the Difference

Under dynamic pricing, the data that drives the algorithm is aggregate. It is about the market: how many people are searching for flights to Houston this week or how many hotel rooms remain unsold. The algorithm does not need to know who you are. It only needs to know what is happening around you.

Surveillance pricing requires a dossier – identity, age, race, income, spending patterns, loyalty program participation, browsing behavior, location and device characteristics.

What’s the Potential Problem

Surveillance pricing does not lend itself to transparency. Because the data points and sources utilized are not accessible or easy to detect, consumers rarely have a view into what information a company has about them, what the prices they see are based on, or what prices other customers may be seeing for the same product or service. Unfortunately for buyers, you can’t comparison-shop your way out of a price that is calibrated to your personal willingness to pay.

In summary, dynamic pricing is focused on generalized, macro elements, but surveillance pricing goes steps beyond by utilizing data to determine what an individual consumer is unwittingly willing to pay for a product or service.

---

Rolanda Gregory ©2026
All Rights Reserved.