Instacart AI Tests Show Varying Prices for Same Items

A new study has revealed that Instacart, a major online grocery delivery service, is conducting AI-driven price experiments that result in different customers seeing varying costs for identical items at the same stores on the same day. The research, conducted by nonprofits Groundwork Collaborative and Consumer Reports with support from More Perfect Union, involved 437 shoppers in four U.S. cities: Seattle, Washington, D.C., North Canton, Ohio, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Prices for the same products fluctuated by an average of 13 percent, with some items differing by up to 23 percent, potentially adding more than $1,200 to an average household's annual grocery bill.

The investigation, carried out in September, had participants simultaneously add the same 20 grocery items to their Instacart carts for in-store pickup from retailers including Costco, Kroger, Safeway, and Target. Researchers found that nearly three-quarters of the items displayed multiple prices, with as many as five variations for a single product. For example, at a Safeway in Washington, D.C., a dozen Lucerne eggs ranged from $3.99 to $4.79, a spread of about 20 percent. In Seattle, Oscar Mayer deli turkey at...