Springsteen tickets are going for a whopping $4,000 – what else are we paying dynamic prices for?

Fans were outraged after the cost of watching the Boss play surged. But companies are now increasingly adjusting charges based on data they have about you too

If you want to see Bruce Springsteen play in the US, it may cost you. Some of the tickets for the Boss's forthcoming tour are going for over $4,000 (3,300) on Ticketmaster - prices that have triggered a backlash and angry headlines. Do you get hand-fed gold-coated caviar and have your feet massaged by a supermodel for that money? Not exactly. The reason the tickets cost so much is because of dynamic pricing". Ticketmaster has said most Springsteen tickets cost under $200, but 11% are part of a variable pricing strategy where the cost adjusts according to demand. Think Uber's surge pricing - but for concert tickets.

While people are understandably outraged by Ticketmaster's antics, dynamic pricing isn't unusual. We're all used to the fluctuating prices of hotel rooms and aeroplane tickets, for example. What is newer, however, is the extent to which dynamic pricing is being used. According to a 2018 Deloitte and Salesforce report, 40% of brands that use artificial intelligence to personalise customer experience have adjusted pricing and promotions in real time. A recent McKinsey report, meanwhile, notes that Amazon reprices millions of items as frequently as every few minutes".