"The change comes just weeks after a study from Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports, and More Perfect Union found that Instacart offered multiple price points for the same grocery items at the same store. The report drew attention from lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who said in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission that "consumers deserve to know when they are being placed into pricing tests." Reuters also reported that the FTC opened an investigation into Instacart's AI pricing tests."
"Instacart says it will no longer allow retailers to use the AI-powered Eversight technology it acquired in 2022 to run pricing tests, though retailers "may choose to vary the price of items on a store-by-store basis." It adds that the pricing tests "were never based on supply or demand, personal data, demographics, or individual shopping behavior." Last week, Instacart reached a $60 million settlement with the agency over separate allegations that it engaged in deceptive tactics, including falsely advertising free shipping."
Instacart ended its AI-driven pricing experiments after some customers saw different prices for identical products at the same store. The company now enforces identical prices when two shoppers buy the same items at the same time from the same store. Instacart will stop allowing retailers to use the Eversight technology acquired in 2022 for pricing tests, though retailers may still vary prices by store. Instacart stated the tests did not use supply, demand, personal data, demographics, or individual shopping behavior. The change followed a study revealing multiple price points, prompted regulatory attention, and came after a separate $60 million settlement.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]