A LinkedIn post by Mumbai-based customer Hetal Bhanushali has gone viral, accusing e-commerce beauty giant Nykaa of manipulating prices based on user profiles. Her sharply worded complaint has triggered a wider conversation around transparency and fairness in online retail pricing.
What are the allegations?
In her post, Bhanushali described a recent experience where she attempted to purchase a lipstick priced at Rs 1,150 on her Nykaa account, where she is a Prive member, a loyalty tier for high-spending customers. Moments later, her sister, located just 2 km away and with a relatively new Nykaa account, saw the same product listed at Rs 1,029.
“The only difference? Her account has under Rs 10k in spends. Me? I’m a Prive member. Loyal. High-spending. Rewarded with… higher prices?” Bhanushali wrote.
The disparity led Bhanushali to accuse the Falguni Nayar-owned company of exploiting its long-time customers. “Apparently, being a ‘valued customer’ on Nykaa just means they know you’re willing to pay more. And they use that data against you,” she claimed, terming the pricing model “daylight robbery with a smile.”
While companies often use dynamic pricing to adjust rates based on supply and demand, Bhanushali questioned whether penalising loyal users crosses an ethical line. “That’s not dynamic pricing. That’s shady pricing,” she stated.
Trust factor
She also criticised what she described as Nykaa’s retention strategy, offering discounts only after users stop buying. “Once you stop buying, they chase you with retention offers because now you matter again?” she asked, adding that such practices erode trust.
Bhanushali concluded her post by cancelling her order and declaring she would no longer shop on Nykaa, despite being a long-term customer. “Nykaa just lost a Prive member,” she wrote.
The post has prompted many other users to share similar experiences and express concern over opaque pricing practices in India’s booming online retail space.
One user wrote, “Hope this goes far and wide. Enough with e-commerce businesses (and companies in general) using customer data against the customers!”
While another said, “Nykaa is very deceptive with their prices; they keep saying it’s a sale, but keep the prices same or do something like this.”