Online is usually cheaper for a lot of goods. Two days ago, I wanted to get a physical copy of an older game that is getting harder to find. It was way more expensive buying from a physical store, so I searched for it online. The price difference for the exact same product between searching in my PC’s browser and through my phone was about $8.

My phone tracks my habits more easily, so I think they assumed I’d be more likely to buy from more expensive sellers if they just withheld showing me the cheaper ones. I could see the same more expensive options on my PC, but nothing below a certain price point on my phone. In a physical store, they’re only able to advertise one price. But online, when there can be multiple origin points for a product in a single market, they can simply withhold showing you some of them.

I find this hard to believe as well. There is very little information given and it seems more likely they accidentally shopped at two different targets. I’ve heard the same claim about plane tickets, also mentioned in the article, and have never experienced it as well. Though there is a lot more evidence to back that claim up.

My comparisons have been between my work laptop and my personal computer. Two completely different machines, different IP addresses and vastly different habits on those machines. I never even log into my accounts on my work machine.