A recent study published by Consumer Reports alleges that Instacart has been conducting AI-led dynamic pricing experiments that, in some cases, are drastically inflating the cost of certain products. The report, created with research partner Groundwork Collaborative, found the delivery app was running these experiments at its retail partner locations, which include stores like Kroger, Albertsons, Costco, and Safeway. In some instances, consumers were paying as much as 23 percent more than other shoppers for the exact same item.
The software behind these experiments is called Eversight, a SaaS product that offers grocers a retail pricing suite designed to unlock revenue growth. Instacart discloses on its Eversight page that some shoppers may see slightly higher prices than others. However, as the report highlights, a 23 percent price increase is significantly more than just slightly higher.
When reached for comment, Instacart referred to a previously released statement. In it, the company noted that a small subset of its retail partners use the Eversight technology to run limited online pricing tests, similar to how retailers have long tested prices in physical stores.
Dynamic pricing has become increasingly common in recent years, and many large e-commerce sites have been accused of employing it. Another recent report claimed that, due to dynamic pricing used by Amazon, school districts across the United States have been paying higher prices for basic school supplies. Amazon has since called that report flawed and misleading.