Cab aggregator apps Ola and Uber on Thursday were issued notices by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for pricing services differently based on users' mobile phones. This comes days after quick commerce platform Zepto was in the news for a similar issue.
Union minister of consumer affairs Pralhad Joshi said on X (formerly Twitter) that the issues are part of a follow-up to claims of different pricing on Android mobiles and iPhones.
This comes a month after the minister directed the CCPA to investigate such allegations, stating that the government has zero tolerance for consumer exploitation.
“We do not set prices based on a rider's phone manufacturer. We look forward to working with the Central Consumer Protection Authority to clear up any misunderstanding," a spokesperson from Uber said.
Zepto's issues
A Bengaluru resident earlier this month conducted an experiment on the Zepto app, and found that the quick commerce platform showed a significantly higher price for the same vegetable products on iPhones, compared to Android users. The price disparity was observed with other common grocery items as well.
What is differential pricing?
This is a pricing strategy adopted by companies where they charge different prices for the same product or service to different customers or groups of customers. This can be based on factors such as location (different prices in different regions); customer segment (different prices for types of customers, such as students and seniors) and time of day (night charges, peak hour charges).
Expert take
C Ambigapathy, managing director of Chennai-based ride-hailing platform Fastrack, told the Times of India that it’s technically feasible to tweak fares based on a user’s hardware. “It is child's play for companies to tweak fares based on hardware details while hiding behind the ‘dynamic pricing algorithm’ explanation.”
Budget with ET
Rising Bharat may need to take center stage for India’s game-changing plans
Will Indian Railways accelerate to global standards with govt’s budgetary allocation?
Budget 2025 to catapult India's domestic manufacturing to a global scale
This comes a month after the minister directed the CCPA to investigate such allegations, stating that the government has zero tolerance for consumer exploitation.
“We do not set prices based on a rider's phone manufacturer. We look forward to working with the Central Consumer Protection Authority to clear up any misunderstanding," a spokesperson from Uber said.
Zepto's issues
A Bengaluru resident earlier this month conducted an experiment on the Zepto app, and found that the quick commerce platform showed a significantly higher price for the same vegetable products on iPhones, compared to Android users. The price disparity was observed with other common grocery items as well.
What is differential pricing?
This is a pricing strategy adopted by companies where they charge different prices for the same product or service to different customers or groups of customers. This can be based on factors such as location (different prices in different regions); customer segment (different prices for types of customers, such as students and seniors) and time of day (night charges, peak hour charges).
Expert take
C Ambigapathy, managing director of Chennai-based ride-hailing platform Fastrack, told the Times of India that it’s technically feasible to tweak fares based on a user’s hardware. “It is child's play for companies to tweak fares based on hardware details while hiding behind the ‘dynamic pricing algorithm’ explanation.”
