Instacart is using a hidden algorithm that charges different customers different prices for the same grocery items at the same stores, according to a new study cited by The New York Post.
At a Target in North Canton, Ohio, one shopper paid $2.99 for Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter, while others paid up to $3.59 for the same product that same day. At a Safeway in Seattle, Instacart users were charged five different prices for the same Oscar Mayer deli turkey — from $3.99 to $4.89 — a 23% spread between the lowest and highest markups.
The same pattern appeared at Target and Safeway stores in four cities, according to a study by Groundwork Collaborative and Consumer Reports, which used 437 shoppers ordering groceries through Instacart for in-store pickup.
It’s the latest example of “dynamic pricing”—the widely criticized practice popularized by Uber and Lyft during surge periods—now squeezing consumers amid an affordability crisis. Airlines routinely raise fares when site traffic spikes, a form of “surveillance pricing,” and fast-food customers have reported fluctuating menu prices on digital screens.
Groundwork, a consumer advocacy group, said Instacart’s pricing algorithm could cost shoppers up to $1,200 more per year at a time when food inflation remains elevated. Nearly three-quarters of grocery items surveyed were priced differently on Instacart, one of the nation’s largest grocery-shopping apps, the study found.
According to the New York Post, Instacart insisted its price “tests” are not based on shoppers’ personal or behavioral data and denied using real-time “dynamic” pricing — despite the study showing wide price swings between customers. While the study found no proof Instacart used personal information, researchers said the company almost certainly has the capability to tailor prices by demographics such as age, income, and customer status. Instacart stated that its tests help retailers “learn what matters most to consumers,” claiming that the algorithm may raise prices on specialty items but often lowers them on staples like milk and bread.
Instacart is charging different prices to different customers — on the same grocery items in the same stores, bombshell study reveals https://t.co/uYVVWJXDuz pic.twitter.com/2suDLHqGZL
— New York Post (@nypost) December 9, 2025
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