Bombshell Study: Instacart Is Charging Different Prices To Different Customers — On The Same Grocery Items In The Same Stores
A new investigation is shining a harsh spotlight on Instacart, accusing the delivery giant of quietly manipulating grocery prices through an opaque algorithm that charges different users different amounts for the exact same items—sometimes at the exact same store on the very same day.
Researchers uncovered dramatic differences in what Instacart shoppers paid for identical products. In one striking case at a Target in North Canton, Ohio, a shopper was charged $2.99 for a jar of Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter during a September order, while other customers that very day paid as much as $3.59 for the same jar from the same location.
Seattle shoppers saw similar disparities. At one Safeway, Instacart users were billed five separate prices for the same package of Oscar Mayer Deli Turkey: $3.99, $4.31, $4.59, $4.69 and $4.89 — a spread of 23% between the highest and lowest amount collected.
Across stores in four different cities, this pattern repeated itself. The findings come from Groundwork Collaborative and Consumer Reports, which enlisted 437 shoppers to place Instacart pickup orders and track the prices that appeared.
The revelations add to the growing backlash against “dynamic pricing,” a frustration that began with rideshare surges during bad weather and has since seeped into countless industries. Consumers have complained about vanishing price stability at a time when inflation has made everyday living increasingly unaffordable.
Companies already known for employing price fluctuation tactics include airlines—whose fares often rise when multiple users are searching at once—and fast-food chains that use digital menus to quietly adjust burger prices throughout the day. Groundwork warned that Instacart’s methods alone could cost families up to $1,200 a year, especially as food inflation continues to climb faster than most other expenses.
The study reported that nearly 75% of items reviewed on Instacart were listed at multiple prices, despite being identical products. Instacart, responding to The Post, rejected the notion that its system resembles real-time surge pricing. The company insisted that any price “tests” are not tied to customers’ personal characteristics, stating its prices are never “dynamic,” even though the discrepancies revealed in the study showed dramatic swings from shopper to shopper.
Researchers clarified that they found no proof Instacart is actively using personal data to determine pricing, but noted that Instacart and its retail partners very likely possess the capability to alter prices based on factors like income level, age, or whether a user is new or returning.
Instacart defended the strategy, positioning its tests as tools to help retailers “learn what matters most to consumers.” The company said higher markups might appear on niche items, whereas staples like milk and bread sometimes show lower prices. “Just as retailers have long tested prices in their physical stores to better understand consumer preferences, a subset of only 10 retail partners – ones that already apply markups – do the same online via Instacart,” a spokesperson said.
Target, however, distanced itself from the entire practice. A company representative stressed, “Target is not affiliated with Instacart and is not responsible for prices on the Instacart platform.” The retailer offered no further comment on whether it planned to evaluate Instacart’s conduct.
Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons, declined to respond to requests for comment.
The uproar comes as grocery prices remain 25% higher than before the pandemic. Over the weekend, President Trump ordered a sweeping federal probe into allegations of price-fixing across the food industry, following accusations from several Democratic lawmakers that major conglomerates have been exploiting consumers.
Some supermarket chains say they would never consider the type of in-store price variability that Instacart appears to be experimenting with. Stew Leonard’s, which uses Instacart for e-commerce, said it has never been asked to take part in such pricing practices—and wouldn’t agree even if it were. “We would never price customer A differently from customer B,” said chief marketing officer Tammy Berentson. “We would have nothing to gain. It’s unfair. We are transparent about our pricing and we want to be fair to our customers and for our customers to trust us.”
The variability documented in the study was staggering. At a Safeway in Washington, DC, some Instacart customers paid $3.99 for a dozen Lucerne eggs while others were charged $4.79. The same store sold Signature SELECT Corn Flakes for anywhere between $2.99 and $3.69. At a Target in North Canton, one group of Instacart shoppers paid $3.99 for Premium Original Saltine Crackers, while others were charged $4.59 or $4.69. Even a store-brand farfalle pasta ranged from $1.19 to $1.43.
In Seattle, Wheat Thins ordered through Instacart at Safeway appeared with four distinct price tags: $3.99, $4.31, $4.69 and $4.89.
“Instacart is a black hole for the retailer,” one industry executive told The Post. The executive explained that grocers joined Instacart to gain digital reach, only to discover during the pandemic that they no longer had a clear view into customer transactions. “The classic rub in the scenario is ‘Whose customer is it’ – Instacart’s or the grocer’s?”
Driving all these shifting numbers is a pricing engine developed by Eversight, the software company Instacart acquired in 2022. Last year, during an investor call, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo said the AI system “helps retailers dynamically optimize their pricing both online and in-store to really figure out which categories of products a customer is more price sensitive on versus less price sensitive on and really adjust their prices based on that information.”
Despite denials from the company, the study’s findings raise sharp questions about transparency, fairness, and the future of pricing in a digital marketplace dominated by algorithms—algorithms that, for now, remain largely invisible to the very shoppers they affect.
{Matzav.com}
