Sales algorithms are a system that helps merchants set prices across different stores, or stores in different regions. Sounds like prices are going up. And sure enough, athough the technology could lead to fewer racks of clearance items at the end of a season, executives claim their customers might see discounts earlier than usual and at bigger discounts. But it's upscale places like Saks that are only now starting to use this system. Pricing technologies have worked well for mainstream and discount retailers. So that means the stores I frequent already use these to set their prices. Hmph.