Instacart AI Tests Hike Grocery Bills by 23%, Study Finds

A new Consumer Reports study has revealed that Instacart is using AI-driven pricing experiments to charge some customers up to 23% more for the exact same groceries at major U.S. retailers like Costco and Kroger.

How Eversight AI Powers Instacart’s Price Hikes

The investigation, conducted alongside research partner Groundwork Collaborative, discovered these pricing trials occurring at prominent supermarket chains, including Albertsons, Safeway, Kroger, and Costco. At the center of these fluctuations is Eversight, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform acquired by Instacart. This tool provides grocers with a retail pricing suite designed to maximize profit margins and establish “optimal prices.” While Instacart openly admits on its website that some users “may see slightly higher prices,” a 23% markup stretches the definition of “slightly.”

Instacart Defends ‘AI-Enabled’ Pricing Experiments

Responding to the findings, Instacart pointed to a previously published statement explaining that only 10 of its U.S. retail partners—who already apply markups—are utilizing Eversight to run these limited online tests. The delivery giant heavily disputed the term “dynamic pricing,” preferring to label the practice as “AI-enabled pricing experiments.” According to a company spokesperson, these tests are completely randomized, do not change in real-time based on supply and demand, and are never tailored to individual user behavior or personal demographics.

The Growing Trend of Algorithmic Retail Pricing

This controversy emerges amid rising scrutiny over algorithmic pricing strategies across the e-commerce sector. Recently, Amazon faced similar backlash after a report alleged that school districts across the United States were overpaying for basic educational supplies due to the platform’s automated pricing models. Amazon has since rejected those findings, calling the report inaccurate and misleading.