Instacart's price testing controversy isn't over

"Late last year, Consumer Reports and the Groundwork Collaborative released an investigation that found that a single item posted on Instacart could have as many as five different prices, and that costs for a single item could range from just seven cents to $2.56. The investigation found that while some prices changed, and some differed only marginally, for some items-including Oscar Mayer turkey and Skippy peanut butter-they could vary by more than 20 percent."

"the company turned off technology that, it argued, had sought only to allow retailers who wanted to experiment with prices offered at their own stores. Instacart denied ever using demographic information to set prices, or using "dynamic pricing or surveillance pricing." "Pricing is complex, and retailers have long used different approaches across different markets," wrote the company in a blog. "Just as prices can vary between physical store locations, retail partners may continue to vary item prices on a store-by-store basis on Instacart.""

Instacart conducted price tests that resulted in a single item showing multiple different prices, with some items varying by over 20 percent and ranges from $0.07 to $2.56. Consumer Reports and the Groundwork Collaborative documented these variations and sparked public outcry. Instacart disabled the testing technology and denied using demographic data to set prices, asserting that pricing variations were retailer-driven and comparable to store-by-store differences. New York's Attorney General has requested more information and signaled that the tests may have breached the Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, which requires prior disclosure of algorithmic pricing and recently took effect.

Read at Fast Company