Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
Algorithmic pricing did not arise in a vacuum but is part of a wider phenomenon of using personal data to profile individuals on the market and make predictions about their preferences and behaviour in future market settings. The potential for price personalization is one of the most important and salient aspects of the wider phenomenon of algorithms and big data analytics that have come to dominate consumer market. The personalization of the contract should not be regarded separately from the personalization of other elements of a market relationship, neither theoretically nor from a practical perspective. Not only does the personalization of price build on the same data and parameters as other elements of the parties’ relationship, but the levels of various types of personalization are also frequently interdependent, so that the personalisation of other terms is reflected in the final price or in the relationship between price and quality (which will also be an indirect form of personalization of the price paid by the consumer). This chapter aims to map the place of price personalization against the broader conceptual backdrop of personalization practices in consumer law. In so doing, it will look both into the general theoretical framework of personalization and into some specific instances where other contract terms intertwine with price personalization.

Grochowski, Mateusz and Esposito, Fabrizio and Davola, Antonio, Price Personalization vs Contract Terms Personalization: Mapping the Complexity (April 11, 2024) in Fabrizio Esposito and Mateusz Grochowski, Cambridge Handbook on Price Personalization and the Law (2024).