Your Big Mac might cost more if McDonald's AI thinks people nearby can afford it

https://neow.in/NGxhb3d6

31•bundie•3h ago

Comments

Levitating•1h ago

Has always been the case.

brianwawok•1h ago

Getting AI boost though. Like watch traffic patterns and sporting events, crank it as much as they can!

Please ban all on demand pricing government. Limit it to 1 price a day or something

verdverm•55m ago

Seattle leading the way

https://wilson.seattle.gov/2026/09/23/seattle-becomes-first-...

HDThoreaun•54m ago

Price discrimination on monopoly goods doesnt seem so bad to me. A lot of people who arent willing to pay so much would likely be able to get stuff that otherwise would be limited to the wealthy. Drug prices should definitely have price discrimination as far as Im concerned.

mysterydip•50m ago

For some skeptical reason, I only see this raising prices when demand increases, not lowering it beyond a base “regular” amount.

valleyer•29m ago

That just means the "regular" amount is higher than you think.

john_strinlai•48m ago

it will be $x + $y, never $x - $y.

doublerabbit•54m ago

Why stop there, why not pipe all the towns water through the store and serve it at a premium on hot days?

Let Ai decide if you need a drink.

thesmtsolver2•44m ago

Water is a basic need. McDonald’s and Uber are not basic needs.

SoftTalker•56m ago

The answer to this one is simple: Don't eat at McDonald's. The food is garbage, the service is awful, and the prices are insane.

MiroslavPokorny•52m ago

Another nail in the coffin.

AnimalMuppet•33m ago

Mind specifying which coffin?

WalterGR•50m ago

38 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49899453

20 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49901900

walrus01•48m ago

Breaking news, big mac might cost more in midtown manhattan than in topeka kansas, film at 11.

<snore>

loufe•45m ago

This is a poor take and reads like a strawman. The post is mentioning locations 2 miles from one another varying by almost $2USD for the same product.

walrus01•43m ago

Individual franchise fast food restaurants in the same city can be owned by two totally different groups of people and have very different cost structures for the real estate acquisition cost and build cost, and very different debt loads.

McDonalds restaurants are required to conform to a monolithic corporate identity as part of their franchise agreement but many are individually owned.

I'm not trying to excuse dynamic algorithm based pricing (and personal opinion, McD is crap ultraprocessed pseudo-food), but I'm pretty sure there's a $2 difference between the price of two totally unrelated shawarma vendors for approximately the same product that are within 800 meters of each other in my city as well.

bdangubic•17m ago

except you are trying to excuse it

walrus01•14m ago

No, I'm describing a documented fact of why specifically McDonalds has different pricing in different locations. It has been that way since basically forever. They are individually owned by franchisees and within a certain range do set different pricing in different retail premises. I don't like McDonalds but it's also very ignorant that people are treating this like it's something new.

Next I'm sure some people will discover and be shocked by the fact that the non-corporate-run starbucks kiosks in some major international airports (run by an airport catering/specialist service company) have different prices than their corporate-run local starbucks.

Now if the topic is, as someone else has described in other linked threads on the same topic that different people using the app are getting different pricing for the same store, that's new to me and certainly something to be concerned about. It sounds like what airline ticket booking/purchase sites are known to do depending on your cookies, IP, useragent, browser fingerprint, etc. Very slimy.

beebmam•45m ago

Price discrimination is a good thing for markets. I hate McDonalds and all fast food though.

wahern•24m ago

It's not that simple because it's asymmetric. The companies track you (via firms that can see your purchases across different retailers) but how can you track the companies to find a bargain? Historically you might follow Consumer Reports, your neighbor's advice, or just look at advertised prices, but if everybody is offered a personalized price, now it becomes more difficult for you to compare or even identify prices. And what you're offered today might not be--and if Amazon is any indicator, won't be--the price offered tomorrow, making it more difficult to plan and budget across purchases (individuals don't have the scale and analytic prowess retailers have).

Fair price discrimination would involve some kind of bidding system, but that has high transaction costs for both sides. And naturally sellers aren't interested in maximizing global efficiency or competitiveness. Like any company they prefer "solutions" that give them an advantage over the consumer.

It still might be a net win overall, but surely the sellers will see a larger share of the benefits, possibly accelerating wealth inequality and people's growing sense of economic insecurity. That sense of security is critical for maintaining free (or freer) markets, otherwise the population is prone to using their political powers to try to take back bargaining power, and very often that winds up being a loss for everybody.

cush•42m ago

They just banned algorithmic pricing in seattle grocery stores. What that means and how they can possibly enforce it, I have no idea.

senectus1•37m ago

oof.

Thats a lot of overreach.

fcarraldo•31m ago

Regulation of predatory pricing practices is a primary function of government.

soerxpso•13m ago

It's a reach to even say that's a function of government. It's definitely not a primary function. Outside of a few relatively brief failed experiments, it's not historically something that government does at all.

cataphract•16m ago

Can't they just do it with personalized discounts and other loyalty programs? That's what everyone's doing around here.

devinplatt•40m ago

The article points out that they also might charge you more than the person next to you if you make more money than them, which (ignoring the privacy concerns momentarily) actually seems progressive?

It's kind of funny seeing unabashed capitalism attempting to achieve similar equalization goals to progressive tax policy. But I guess this has always been the case with market segmentation anyways (e.g. paying ridiculous amounts extra for 1st class on the airplane, or a special paint job or trim for your car).

I think the main difference is what people consider fair, transparent, and respectful of privacy. Additionally, people want to feel like they have a choice.

handoflixue•33m ago

"price food items differently depending on where they are bought"

Everyone is aware that they have been doing this since forever, right?

Like, you've traveled to a different location, and discovered prices are different in different cities?

Or how prices downtown are usually higher?

Some of the other companies discussed go beyond this, yes, but the headline is just absurd

tokioyoyo•22m ago

They definitely do, I agree. But it's also fun to see how some other companies keep the prices uniform across the country, here in Japan. Real estate prices are insanely different between my neighbourhood and 2 hours outside of the city. Yet the products are the same prices. I understand the general idea, reasons, and logistics, but it's still fun to experience it.

adrianN•21m ago

So that they can subsidize food for the needy, right? Fully automated space Robin Hood, right?

scotty79•18m ago

> This means you could literally stand side-by-side with another shopper, scan the same TV, and see a $100 difference just because the store's AI thinks you make more money.

Isn't this highly illegal in most developed countries?

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