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Let's get it to the next level: shopping for a present for your friend whose birthday is in 5 months? Still higher prices because they can use yiur early reminder to know you'll need that.

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Between android devices, gmail, and the data collected from everyone's browsing history Google has enough data to squeeze people hard. Other companies are trying to get in on the action too, the digital price tags and facial recognition systems are being rolled out in stores, but the data my grocery store can buy about me from data brokers is nothing compared to what google already has.

How exactly does this help them?

There is a lot of competition in the gift/trinket space. You could buy that birthday present from any number of sellers. If seller #183 jacks up prices, you will go buy from seller #765 instead.

That's not how consumers work. The vast majority of the time they just buy whatever amazon shows them as the first result. They aren't comparison shopping at all. Even for consumers who do comparison shop it won't matter much when every major retailer, website, and grocery store is also setting personalized prices based on what they know about you.

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