Some online shoppers pay more than others, study shows
Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 13:31
in Mathematics & Economics
Internet users regularly receive all kinds of personalized content, from Google search results to product recommendations on Amazon. This is thanks to the complex algorithms that produce results based on users' profiles and past activity. It's Big Data at work, and it's often advantageous for users. But such personalization can also be a disadvantage to buyers, according to a team of Northeastern University researchers, when e-commerce websites manipulate search results or customize prices without the user's knowledge—and which in some cases leads to some online shoppers paying more than others for the same thing.