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How Instacart’s AI-Enabled Pricing Experiments May Inflate Grocery Bill
A study found Instacart's AI pricing experiments caused up to 23% price differences for identical items, impacting nearly 75% of tested groceries across four U.S. cities.
- On Tuesday, Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports and More Perfect Union found almost 75% of tested grocery items showed multiple prices and some varied up to 23% on Instacart.
- Researchers enrolled 437 volunteer shoppers across four cities who simultaneously added the same items to Instacart carts to record displayed prices, while Instacart acquired Eversight, AI-powered pricing platform, in 2022 to help retail partners test price sensitivity.
- At one Safeway in Seattle, baskets cost shoppers $114.34, $119.85 or $123.93, an 8% variation, leading to about $1,200 annual difference for a household of four.
- Consumer advocates urged the Federal Trade Commission and state officials to investigate Instacart's AI pricing, while Senator Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., pushed legislation banning personal data use, and Brookman called the practice "particularly egregious".
- New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act last month requires disclosure when personal data drives prices, Eversight says its program influenced $80 billion in revenue, and the FTC could pursue enforcement or rulemaking.
Insights by Ground AI
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Report: SF-Based Instacart Charging Some Customers as Much as 23% More for the Same Items, Thanks to AI Pricing
People buying the exact same item from the exact same store are sometimes paying a price as much as 23% higher on the platform Instacart, thanks to AI algorithms that show buyers different prices.This new technology known as artificial intelligence could lead to cures for cancer and an end to world hunger. But you know it’s not going to! Corporate America only wants AI technology fool you into purchases with false information, proliferate shitty…
Instacart is charging different prices to different customers — on the same grocery items in the same stores, bombshell study reveals
Instacart has been using a shady algorithm that charges different prices to different customers on the same grocery items in the same supermarkets – and the undisclosed price swings can be huge, according to an explosive study.
·New York, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources18
Leaning Left7Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution54% Left
Bias Distribution
- 54% of the sources lean Left
54% Left
L 54%
C 31%
15%
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