It is how all markets worked (and still work in developing countries).
I have seen my grandparents haggling with a merchant over the price of fruits and flour and everything else.
Developed countries just had richer populations that could afford to pay a high enough price such that merchant can eat the volatility and not have to pay the labor costs of having an employee to haggle.
However, due to automation, price discrimination for low profit margin/high volume goods is more able to hone in someone’s ability/willingness to pay. Similarly, buyers are able to scan the internet very quickly for what other sellers are willing to sell at.
And technically, price discrimination has existed for a long, long time in the US too via coupons and mailed discounts based on purchasing history. Only thing that changes is the frequency.
> buyers are able to scan the internet very quickly for what other sellers are willing to sell at.
For retail goods, this makes sense; however, the notion that the majority of people are doing this for food items like bananas and potatoes is a little bit specious.
I mean are the types of retailers you're describing posting their prices on the Internet in the first place? Or is price discovery happening entirely by word of mouth?
I have seen my grandparents haggling with a merchant over the price of fruits and flour and everything else.
Developed countries just had richer populations that could afford to pay a high enough price such that merchant can eat the volatility and not have to pay the labor costs of having an employee to haggle.
However, due to automation, price discrimination for low profit margin/high volume goods is more able to hone in someone’s ability/willingness to pay. Similarly, buyers are able to scan the internet very quickly for what other sellers are willing to sell at.
And technically, price discrimination has existed for a long, long time in the US too via coupons and mailed discounts based on purchasing history. Only thing that changes is the frequency.