Cheese Latte Price "Big Data Discrimination"? Luckin Coffee Responds

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The Controversy of "Big Data Price Discrimination"

Earlier media reports revealed numerous instances of consumers encountering "big data price discrimination" across various sectors. These include video platforms where members actually pay higher delivery fees, travel scenarios where the same hotel room type is priced differently for different customers, situations where regular customers pay more than new ones at the same store, and ride-hailing services where identical routes cost differently depending on the customer. Consumers can easily become targets of such discriminatory pricing without realizing it.

Luckin Coffee's Recent Pricing Controversy

Recently, Luckin Coffee has drawn attention amid allegations of price discrimination. Many netizens have complained that the price of Luckin's Cheese Latte has increased from 9.9 yuan to 18 yuan, yet some customers can still enjoy the 9.9 yuan price. This has led many to question whether Luckin is also engaging in price discrimination.

When responding to media inquiries, Luckin Coffee's relevant department staff explained that due to comprehensive considerations including business operations, labor costs, rent, and delivery factors, prices vary between different branches, resulting in certain price differences. Promotional activities are randomly distributed by the system. Based on this explanation, while the phenomenon of different prices for the same product does exist, Luckin denies engaging in price discrimination. So how do these price differences between different customers actually occur?

Customer Experiences and Reactions

Netizens have shared their personal experiences. One user stated, "My account is becoming increasingly expensive, but some people can even get Cheese Lattes for free while I cannot." Others expressed dissatisfaction with pricing after getting membership cards. One netizen commented, "How is this possible? I got a Freedom Card but it's still so expensive. How dare you? If this continues, I'm done drinking your coffee." Another consumer remarked, "They don't cherish loyal customers at all. Starbucks, which I haven't visited in a long time, occasionally sends me 40% off coupons. What makes Luckin Coffee so superior? I'm switching today."

However, some netizens hold opposing views, believing that "you expect them to give you 9.9 yuan coupons every day, and when they don't, you accuse them of price discrimination. These are promotional coupons that naturally expire after use." In their perspective, it's acceptable for Luckin to offer different discount schemes to consumers with different consumption habits.

Previous Incidents and Consumer Trust

Previously, in March 2021, the possibility of Luckin Coffee engaging in big data price discrimination was reported by CCTV Financial's "Consumer Perspective" program. A Ms. Xu from Changsha, Hunan Province, reported that when ordering Luckin Coffee with colleagues to the same address for the same products, she encountered price differences and even discriminatory delivery fees. She believed the different pricing was due to her daily coffee purchases.

Ms. Xu, a high-frequency Luckin Coffee consumer, was extremely angry. Initially, she complained directly by calling Luckin's customer service. Luckin responded that this was part of their pricing system, where different customers have different prices, but they were willing to compensate her with a coffee voucher. However, the consumer was not satisfied, stating, "I'm not communicating with you about this just to get one coffee voucher."

Subsequently, Luckin called back to explain the details of their pricing system, but the consumer directly stated, "You don't need to explain your pricing system further. I don't need compensation either. I just won't drink your coffee anymore." Despite Luckin's later attempts to resolve the situation by offering coffee vouchers, they apparently failed to regain this consumer's trust.

The Broader Issue of Big Data Price Discrimination

Big data price discrimination in online consumption has become a shared concern among relevant authorities and consumers in recent years. According to media reports, the director of a law firm believes that practices not targeting new users but instead implementing price and rule differences based on different users' consumption habits and frequency all constitute forms of price discrimination. Apparently, Luckin holds a different view on this matter.

Image source: Internet

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