Instacart pricing experiment

Business · Heat 1.7 / 10 · 2 shows · 12m airtime

Groundwork Collaborative, More Perfect Union and Consumer Reports released a 400-shopper secret-shopper experiment on September 29, 2026, finding different prices for about 75 percent of items in the same grocery basket at a Seattle Safeway. Instacart promised to shut the pricing experiment down, which traces to its 2021 acquisition of AI pricing firm Eversight. Reporting since has put the price gaps as high as 23 percent, or up to $1,200 more a year for some families. Lindsay Owens, whose book Gouged was published the same day, says the company reversed course within two weeks.

How 2 podcasts covered it

1. Marketplace, 2026-09-29 (9:58 to 15:52)
   Interviews Owens on the secret-shopper pricing test
   Interviews Lindsay Owens on Gouged and a 400-secret-shopper Instacart experiment: about 75 percent of items in the same Seattle Safeway basket carried different prices, and Instacart promised within two weeks to shut the pricing experiment down.
   New angle: About 75 percent of items in the same Instacart basket carried different prices; Instacart promised to shut the experiment down.
2. Odd Lots, 2026-10-26 (7:32 to 13:12)
   Walks through the secret-shopper design
   Owens walks through the secret-shopper design herself: 400 shoppers, four locations, the same 23 items at the same moment. Adds the size of the gaps - up to 23 percent, up to $1,200 a year - and ties the experiment to Instacart's 2022 Eversight purchase.
   New angle: Price gaps ran as high as 23 percent, or up to $1,200 more a year for some families.