Overview
- Consumer Reports, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union coordinated five synchronized tests with 437 volunteers, finding nearly three-quarters of items displayed multiple prices, sometimes as many as five.
- Item-level gaps reached about 23% and identical baskets differed by roughly 7% on average, which the study estimates could cost a typical family about $1,200 per year if consistently assigned to higher tiers.
- Instacart says only about 10 retail partners that already apply online markups used its tools for short-term tests, adds that prices are not real-time dynamic, and says it does not use personal or demographic data.
- Price variation was observed on Instacart listings tied to major chains, including Target, Safeway, Albertsons, Costco, Kroger and Sprouts, though Instacart says it has discontinued pricing tests on Target orders.
- The report raises transparency concerns such as differing “original” prices shown to shoppers, and has prompted political attention including a new Senate proposal to ban individualized pricing based on personal data.