Transparent Dynamic Pricing and Perceptions of Marketplace Fairness

Akira Yamamoto

Transparent Dynamic Pricing and Perceptions of Marketplace Fairness

Author(s)	Dr. Akira Yamamoto
Country	United States
Abstract	Dynamic pricing enables digital marketplaces to adjust prices across time, demand conditions, customer segments, or individual consumers. Although such flexibility may support revenue management and market responsiveness, consumers do not evaluate changing prices solely in economic terms. They also judge whether the pricing process appears reasonable, equitable, understandable, and respectful. This study examines whether transparency can improve perceptions of marketplace fairness when consumers encounter dynamic prices. A simulation-based comparative design distinguishes three pricing conditions: opaque dynamic pricing, basic price disclosure, and transparent justified pricing. A synthetic analytical dataset of 450 observations, divided equally across the three conditions, is used exclusively for methodological illustration and is not presented as evidence collected from real consumers. Perceived marketplace fairness, seller trust, price acceptance, manipulation concern, and purchase intention are modeled on seven-point scales. The simulated results show that perceived fairness increases from 3.62 under opaque dynamic pricing to 4.84 under basic disclosure and 5.96 under transparent justified pricing. Seller trust, price acceptance, and purchase intention follow similar patterns, while perceived manipulation declines substantially as transparency increases. These results are theoretically consistent with established price-fairness research showing that consumers rely on comparative reference points, inferred seller motives, procedural explanations, and the basis of price differentiation when evaluating pricing practices. The study argues that effective transparency requires more than revealing that prices may change. Fairness is more likely to be supported when marketplaces communicate the nature, rationale, and boundaries of dynamic adjustment in terms consumers can understand. The paper contributes a transparency-centered framework for balancing algorithmic pricing flexibility with consumer trust and perceived procedural legitimacy.
Keywords	dynamic pricing; price transparency; marketplace fairness; perceived price fairness; algorithmic pricing; consumer trust; price acceptance; digital marketplaces
Field	Engineering
Published In	Volume 5, Issue 6, November-December 2024
Published On	2024-12-19

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American Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Innovation and Research

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Transparent Dynamic Pricing and Perceptions of Marketplace Fairness

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