Instacart Halts Price Testing After Scrutiny and FTC Probe Instacart has announced it will immediately end all item price testing on its grocery delivery platform. This decision follows a recent study that revealed the company was conducting pricing experiments, leading to different customers seeing different prices for the same items, and a subsequent report that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the company. An Instacart spokesperson confirmed the change, stating that retailers will no longer be able to use third-party technology to run these price tests on the platform. The company framed its move as a response to misconceptions, maintaining that the tests were never a form of dynamic pricing and were not based on any personal shopper data. In earlier communications addressing the study, Instacart described the practice as short-term, randomized A/B testing, which it called common in the grocery industry. The company argued these tests were a method to invest in lower prices and emphasized that it does not set the prices on its app; the retailers using the platform do. Despite ending the formal testing program, Instacart clarified that its retail partners will continue to set their own prices, which may still vary by location as they do in physical stores. The key change is that Instacart will no longer facilitate or support any services dedicated to item price testing. The controversy highlights ongoing concerns about pricing transparency in digital marketplaces, especially as algorithms and testing become more prevalent. Instacart’s reversal suggests a strategic pullback in the face of regulatory attention and public criticism over perceived unfair pricing practices.
