Three organizations found in an investigation into pricing strategies that Instacart may have listed products at various prices for shoppers.
by RAY LEWIS | The National News DeskInstacart, the third-party delivery service, may be pricing the same items differently for customers, a study shows. Consumer Reports, a progressive think tank and an activist group found in an investigation into pricing strategies that Instacart may have listed products at various prices for shoppers, although the company has denied doing so.
“Right now, Instacart is quietly running experiments on millions of us while we shop for groceries online,” Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative think tank, said in aon Tuesday. “They are trying to figure out exactly how much they can get away with charging you for breakfast cereal, lunch meat, pasta, and everything in between.” “They are trying to figure out exactly how much they can get away with charging you for breakfast cereal, lunch meat, pasta, and everything in between.” The three organizations asked more than 400 shoppers across four cities in September to add specific items from grocery stores to their Instacart baskets. Researchers found that nearly three-quarters of the products added were listed for multiple. There was also an average 13% difference between the highest and lowest items, the study shows. And for the same baskets that were filled at the same store at the same time, there was a total price difference of around 7%, according to the researchers. “These tactics hurt families who are simply trying to purchase essential groceries,” Justin Brookman, Consumer Reports’s technology policy director, said in a “At a time when everyday Americans are struggling with high prices, it is particularly egregious to see corporations secretly conducting individual experiments to see how much a person is willing to pay.” An Instacart spokesperson told The National News Desk that its retail partners control their prices on its platform. “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,” the spokesperson explained. “These limited, short-term, and randomized tests help retail partners learn what matters most to consumers and how to keep essential items affordable.” Retailers’ pricing policies are shown on Instacart, the company noted, so that customers “always know when prices may differ from in-store and can easily compare prices across retailers before checkout.”involved in the organizations’ study, said that it isn’t affiliated with Instacart, though. A spokesperson told TNND it isn’t responsible for prices on Instacart, and a source added that Target doesn’t vary its prices based on “particular” customers or groups, a practice Instacart has also rejected.Father charged after taking 5-year-old from Bountiful home to prevent scheduled surgery Charges were filed against a father who took his 5-year-old child he did not have custody of to prevent scheduled surgery.The father, identified as 45-year-oldThe Department of Homeland Security ignited a firestorm in a local immigration case after posting a statement on X accusing Jair Celis, a 29-year-old Utah husbaA Utah ski pass scam was committed by a South Carolina woman who admitted to a multi-year, multimillion-dollar scheme.Jamilla Greene, 34 years old, was chargedJoseph Pachak's remains were recovered from a pond on his property.The 75-year-old artist was first reported missing on Nov. 27. His remains were recovered justSalt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill is under fire for failing to show up for the Legislative Audit Subcommittee meeting, where committee members address
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