This time last week, millions found themselves frantically refreshing their browsers in the hope of snagging tickets to Oasis’s long-awaited reunion tour. A triumphant celebration of Britpop’s return quickly descended into chaos, with many fans left disappointed, frustrated and significantly lighter in the wallet.
What started as a queue to perhaps secure a £135 ticket at one of the band’s summer 2025 gigs in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin, turned into a wait filled with frustration, as those very same tickets spiked to an eye-watering £355 and beyond by the time they reached the checkout.
This surge in pricing wasn’t due to a technical glitch, but rather the practice of dynamic pricing – a system where prices fluctuate based on demand. As fans scrambled for tickets, the algorithms pushed prices higher.
Ticketmaster, the platform facilitating the sale, has come under fire for how it managed this system, and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has since launched an investigation to determine if consumer protection laws were breached.
Among the key questions are whether the ticket-selling giant engaged in unfair practices, whether buyers were adequately informed of potential price hikes, and whether pressure tactics forced consumers into quick, uninformed decisions.
Is dynamic pricing fair?
Jean-Pierre Dubé, a distinguished service professor of marketing at the Chicago Booth School of Business
Dynamic pricing isn’t a new concept. Airlines, hotels, and insurance companies have been using this method for years to balance supply and demand. According to Jean-Pierre Dubé, a distinguished service professor of marketing at the Chicago Booth School of Business, dynamic pricing can actually prevent a glut of underpriced tickets and discourage touts from reselling at exorbitant rates.
But there’s a catch. Dubé points out that the system’s fairness comes into question when it creates unrealistic consumer expectations, as was the case with the Oasis ticket debacle.
“The key thing to understand is that the main issue with the Oasis fiasco is not that the ticket prices were high. Rather, the issue is rooted in poorly mis-managed consumer expectations as the prices were higher than advertised,” he said.
“It is not the dynamic pricing model’s fault that there is such outrage around buying Oasis tickets. The crux of the issue here is the mismanaged consumer expectations by ticket sales platforms that left people feeling deceived and ripped off.”
Importance of transparency
Lynda Clarke, COO, Tribe Payment
For businesses using dynamic pricing, success lies in transparency and technical reliability, says Lynda Clarke, chief operating officer at Tribe Payments, a digital payments and infrastructure orchestrator.
“For payment companies, their job is to make sure their systems can handle the process smoothly, because technical glitches on top of fluctuating prices is a recipe for a poor customer experience and public uproar,” Clarke explains.
In the case of Oasis, technical issues combined with sudden price hikes created a perfect storm of consumer outrage. Fans felt blindsided by the pricing model, which led many to believe they were being exploited.
Clarke draws comparisons to industries like insurance and travel, where consumers have learned to accept dynamic pricing because they understand how it works. “We’ve all learned that booking early tends to get you the best deal,” Clarke says, “but consumers in those sectors understand the system and don’t feel blindsided.”
Dynamic pricing, for many, is a way to maximise profits, especially when demand spikes.
“And yes, in some cases, that’s exactly what it does,” adds Clarke. “But if you push it too far and consumers feel like they’re just cash cows, they’ll likely turn on you. Trust is the most important element of a merchant-consumer relationship. The real challenge for businesses is balancing the motive of profits with the need to keep customers happy. After all, once you lose their trust, it’s hard to win it back.”
Atmosphere of uncertainty
Azim Askarov, co-founder, CONCRYT
This sentiment is echoed by Azim Askarov, co-founder of e-commerce payments company CONCRYT, who highlights the importance of balancing short-term profits with long-term brand loyalty.
“Merchants need to remember that selling is not just about generating revenue; it’s about creating a positive user experience, which in turn benefits your brand and business. As commerce has moved online, it’s easy to forget that digital experiences can sometimes be negative, especially with in-demand products.
“These situations often highlight flaws in the system and demonstrate when merchants have followed poor advice from their suppliers. Merchants should consider the long-term impact on customer trust and brand reputation when implementing dynamic pricing. While it may maximise short-term revenue, it risks alienating loyal fans and sparking backlash that can damage the brand.”
The broader impact on consumer behaviour
Ross Williams, global VP for solutions at SAP Emarsys
Despite these concerns, Ross Williams, global VP for solutions at SAP Emarsys, an omnichannel customer engagement platform, takes a more positive view of dynamic pricing’s potential when used responsibly.
He points out that while dynamic pricing has long been a staple of industries like airlines and travel, AI advancements are now making it more accessible to retailers of all sizes.
“Increasingly, consumers are growing used to this type of dynamic approach, knowing that if they book their flights at the right time of year, or their taxi at the right time of day, they’ll get a much better deal,” Williams says.
He also notes that dynamic pricing, when combined with personalised promotions, can be a powerful tool to reward loyal customers. “It’s no longer a strategy only available to the largest retailers with the biggest budgets. Now, AI is making real-time pricing and personalised deals far more accessible for retailers of all sizes,” he adds.
Regulatory crackdown
Ellen Huison, an associate at Knights
However, as dynamic pricing becomes more widespread, the need for oversight is also growing. Ellen Huison, an associate at UK law firm Knights, points out that the investigation into Ticketmaster comes as regulators globally are increasingly concerned with pricing practices that could be deemed exploitative.
“The renewed scrutiny of Ticketmaster comes at an interesting time as we await the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC) 2024,” she says.
This new law will give regulators more power to tackle exploitative practices, including dynamic pricing, in the ticketing industry.
With Ticketmaster already under fire in the US over similar practices during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, Huison suggests that the Oasis incident may be just the beginning of a larger reckoning for ticketing platforms and the way they handle pricing strategies.
“While Ticketmaster has so far evaded being designated as a gatekeeper in the EU under the Digital Markets Act, the DMCC will present a real opportunity for UK regulators to protect consumers and tackle exploitative pricing practices in the ticketing markets head-on by applying Strategic Market Status to Ticketmaster.”
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