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Do you shop online? Are you a Mac user? Then you were probably swindled at least once with an online purchase, especially when it comes to travel tickets and booking hotels.
Companies such as Orbitz, a hotel reservation website, have begun preying on Mac users who visit their sites based off of statistical evidence that Apple customers spend $20-$30 more than PC customers who book hotels with them online. As a result, Mac users are steered to higher price results, while PC users are not.
Mac user or not, your computer’s search history is being tracked by websites to help their marking strategies. How do they do this? Websites keep track of browsing data using small pieces of information called “cookies.” On very basic terms, when you go to a website they tag your computer saying, “She was looking at x.” Then, when you visit the same website later on, the information stored on your computer is automatically sent to the site you returned to so they can personalize your shopping experience. This is why you might see inflated prices after returning to a specific website a few times without clearing your cookies. Skeptical? Try searching for airplane tickets or clothes from Banana Republic on your smartphone, and compare the prices to what your computer pulls up.
However, clearing your cookies isn’t always fail-proof–some websites don’t need them for marketing data, and associate information with you based off your IP address. For example, if you download an image from a certain site, session information is stored in the server’s memory, and the site can log your IP to see what you were looking at without having to use cookies.
In short, websites can build entire ghost profiles for you without requiring you to log in or storing a single cookie. The good news is that this is a less reliable method because your IP can change without notice either by ISP or switching WiFi networks.
So what can you do to combat unfair, inflated online prices? There’s a few options:
• Clear your cookies. For most websites this will make it appear as if it’s your first time visiting the site, and you’re likely to see much lower prices– especially for airline tickets.
• Use incognito mode (or the equivalent for non-Chrome browsers) when shopping online
• Get a “do not track” extension for your browser
• Bing has an excellent reputation for its travel search feature that’s useful for planning and budgeting trips
• Try using Google Flights for researching ticket prices
Photo Source: Flickr Creative Commons