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Why do you get different prices every time you try and book an airline ticket, or a hotel? Big data means that companies can figure exactly what you are willing to pay online and can shift the price you face to match that.

It might feel unfair, but dynamic pricing, drip pricing and now personalised pricing are part of the modern economy.

The depth of information available to companies means that they know the price a market will bear, and interest rates set by a central bank will make little difference to how much they charge customers.

Data-gathering software also enables competitors to draw similar conclusions about their market, and set prices accordingly. Regulators are playing catch-up, but what other strategies could be used to combat anti-competitive pricing led by algorithms? And what needs to change to ensure buyers can work out if they're getting a fair deal?

Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors:
David Dayen, writer and journalist, and the executive editor of The American Prospect magazine.
Tom Smith, partner at Geradin, and former Legal Director at the UK Competition and Markets Authority.
Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, Professor of consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University.
Martyn James, consumer rights campaigner and journalist.