The average person pays $247/month in subscriptions they forgot about. Streaming, cloud storage, gym memberships, meal kits. Each one seemed harmless. Together, they haunt your wallet.
Your cereal box lost 18% of its contents while the price stayed the same. The package redesign hid the difference. The ghost of missing grams.
That flight was $340 more because you searched for it twice. The algorithm remembered you. Cookies are the ghosts in the machine that raise your price.
Your phone was designed to slow down after 2 years. That $1200 replacement was built into the business model. The ghost of the phone that could have lasted.