How to hide your spending habits from retailers (so you don't get ripped off)

The article discusses how modern pricing tactics rely on customer data, with consumer advocate Lindsay Owens warning that shoppers can be deliberately overcharged through personalized pricing. Owens, head of Groundwork Collaborative and author of Gouged: The End of a Fair Price — And What That Means for Your Wallet, points to hotels setting prices based on location, airlines using browsing history, and retailers running pricing experiments. She says companies collect data such as clicks, demographics, and purchase history to estimate willingness to pay, which can reduce discounts or raise prices. Owens advises consumers to avoid shopping while logged into retailer apps, compare prices across devices and browsing modes (logged in/out, incognito, with or without VPN), and use friends to check prices.