There is an argument for that possibility actually, but it obviously can’t be proven with 100% certainty since we can’t know what specific factors went into the pricing decision. When businesses know ordinary people are willing and able to spend more money (and in this case they did, because people were already spending more on the taxed amount), they often raise their prices accordingly. Algorithmic pricing is the trial-and-error version of this same propensity in other industries with oligopolies or cartels.
Although it’s quite possible it could have been an earlier price hike than necessary (to maintain the same profit at that location), I do concede that’s difficult to prove. Post-Covid “greedflation” was a prominent example that there can be widespread opportunism around economic shocks, so I’m always watching for the possibility this will recur.
There is an argument for that possibility actually, but it obviously can’t be proven with 100% certainty since we can’t know what specific factors went into the pricing decision. When businesses know ordinary people are willing and able to spend more money (and in this case they did, because people were already spending more on the taxed amount), they often raise their prices accordingly. Algorithmic pricing is the trial-and-error version of this same propensity in other industries with oligopolies or cartels.
It would be a far more compelling argument if gas prices were only rising in Canada, where taxes been lifted. But that ain’t the case.
Although it’s quite possible it could have been an earlier price hike than necessary (to maintain the same profit at that location), I do concede that’s difficult to prove. Post-Covid “greedflation” was a prominent example that there can be widespread opportunism around economic shocks, so I’m always watching for the possibility this will recur.