Instacart ends a program where users could see different prices for the same item at the same store
NEW YORK– Instacart said Monday it was ending a program in which some customers saw different prices for the same product ordered at the same time from the same store when they used the delivery company’s service.
The program aimed to help grocers and other retailers learn more about the types of prices customers would pay for items, in the same way that stores offer different prices for the same products in different locations. But it raised alarms after a report from Consumer Reports and two progressive advocacy groups, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union, said Instacart was offering nearly three out of four groceries to shoppers at multiple prices as part of an experiment.
“At a time when families are working extremely hard to save every grocery dollar, these tests have raised concerns, leaving some people questioning the prices they see on Instacart,” the company said in a blog post Monday. “This is not acceptable, especially for a company built on trust, transparency and affordability.”
Retailers will continue to set their own prices on the delivery website and will still be able to offer different prices at different physical locations, Instacart said, but “as of now, Instacart will not support any item price testing services.”
Instacart said these services were neither “dynamic pricing,” a system in which the price of something can increase when demand is high, nor “monitoring pricing,” where prices can be set based on a user’s income, purchase history or other personal information. Instead, the company said it was offered to customers randomly.
Some customers would simply see a slightly higher price for an item, while others would see a slightly lower price. The experiment conducted by Consumer Reports and the two progressive advocacy groups, for example, found that Instacart shoppers saw one of five different prices for the same dozen Lucerne Eggs at a Washington, D.C. Safeway store: $3.99, $4.28, $4.59, $4.69 or $4.79.
Instacart has offered the price testing service to retailers since 2023. The company declined to say how many customers might have been affected, but it will end the service effective immediately.
Last week, in a separate case, Instacart agreed to refund $60 million to its customers to settle federal allegations of deceptive practices. The Federal Trade Commission had accused Instacart of falsely advertising free deliveries and failing to clearly disclose service fees, which add up to 15% to an order and must be paid for customers.
Instacart has denied the FTC’s allegations of wrongdoing and said it reached an agreement in order to move forward and focus on its business.
“Trust is earned through clarity and consistency,” Instacart said in its blog Monday. “Customers should never have to question the prices they see.”
