In today's digital era, big data has become a core driver of business development and innovation. However, with the continuous development of big data applications, a controversial topic has also surfaced, that is, "big data kills ripeness". The so-called big data killing refers to a business practice in which merchants use the collected personal data and algorithms to formulate different price strategies for different consumers, and label the same product or service with different prices for different consumers. This behavior has attracted widespread attention and controversy and is considered an unfair and fraudulent business practice.
The behavior of big data killing is mainly based on the privacy data of individual consumers. In the age of the Internet, everyone will leave their footprints online, which are collected by merchants and then used to analyze everyone's consumption preferences and purchasing power. Merchants analyze this personal data to determine the purchasing power and sensitivity of different users, so that they can price different consumers in a personalized way. For example, some airlines provide high-priced tickets to users who are identified as having a high willingness to pay by analyzing the user's historical ticket price and payment sensitivity during the ticketing process. Similar examples include hotel bookings, car rentals, and so on. This kind of individualized pricing has aroused dissatisfaction and doubts among many consumers.
Another point of contention about big data is that it is perceived as a form of price discrimination. According to a study published by the European Commission, big data kills consumers with relatively weak purchasing power (such as students or low-income earners) are priced higher, while those with stronger purchasing power are offered better prices. This unfair price difference has attracted the attention of consumer protection organizations and government agencies. On the one hand, consumer protection groups have called for tighter regulation and stricter laws to protect the privacy and rights of consumers. Regulators, on the other hand, have tried to regulate and combat such unfair business practices through antitrust and anti-unfair competition regulations.
However, there are also those who argue that big data killing is not entirely unfair or fraudulent. They believe that it is reasonable market behavior for merchants to set prices individually, especially when the supply and demand situation is complex and the price sensitivity is diversified. By analyzing and using personal data, merchants are better able to meet the needs of different consumers and provide better products and services. At the same time, this personalized pricing can also help merchants deal with market risks and ensure the profitability of enterprises. Therefore, they believe that consumers should maintain a rational and objective attitude towards big data killing, and protect their rights and interests through smart consumption choices.
In general, as a business practice, big data killing has attracted widespread attention and controversy. From a consumer's point of view, personalized pricing gives them more choices and possibilities, but it also gives them the feeling that the price is unfair.