By Elias Schisgall
New York Attorney General Letitia James is demanding that Instacart share information about its price-testing experiments following a report that different the app's users were charged different prices for identical products from the same stores.
In a Thursday letter to the company, James and Assistant Attorney General Ryan Galisewski requested copies of the company's pricing agreements with a range of retailers and food and beverage brands.
The New York officials also requested information about Instacart's price testing through the Eversight artificial-intelligence pricing platform and the company's own Caper Cart software, and asked whether the company was engaging in dynamic pricing or personalized algorithmic pricing as defined by the state's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act.
"Instacart's pricing experiments raise serious concerns about its use of algorithmic pricing, and I will not hesitate to take action to enforce our laws and protect consumers," James said.
The letter comes after a report last month from Consumer Reports, left-leaning think-tank Groundwork Collaborative and media outlet More Perfect Union said Instacart had displayed pricing differences of up to 23% for the same items at the same store and at the same time, with an average difference of 13%.
Instacart, which is formally known as Maplebear, said it would end all price tests due to customer pushback following the report, adding that the tests didn't live up to expectations, although it said it would continue to offer promotions and discounts, and that retail partners could continue setting their own prices.
An Instacart spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The company has denied that it was ever engaged in dynamic pricing or surveillance pricing, saying that prices didn't change in real-time or in response to personal, demographic, or behavioral data.
Instacart shares were down 2.2%, to $43.67, Thursday afternoon.
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
By Elias Schisgall
New York Attorney General Letitia James is demanding that Instacart share information about its price-testing experiments following a report that the app's users were charged different prices for identical products from the same stores.
In a Thursday letter to the company, which is also known as Maplebear, James and Assistant Attorney General Ryan Galisewski requested copies of the company's pricing agreements with a range of retailers and food and beverage brands.
They also requested information about Instacart's price testing through the Eversight artificial-intelligence pricing platform and the company's own Caper Cart software, and asked whether the company was engaging in dynamic pricing or personalized algorithmic pricing as defined by the state's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act.
"Instacart's pricing experiments raise serious concerns about its use of algorithmic pricing, and I will not hesitate to take action to enforce our laws and protect consumers," James said Thursday.
The letter comes after a report last month from Consumer Reports, think tank Groundwork Collaborative and media outlet More Perfect Union said Instacart had displayed pricing differences of up to 23% for the same items at the same store and at the same time, with an average difference of 13%.
Instacart said it would end all price tests due to customer pushback following the report, adding that the tests did not live up to expectations, although it said it would continue to offer promotions and discounts, and that retail partners could continue setting their own prices.
The company has denied that it was ever engaged in dynamic pricing or surveillance pricing, saying that prices did not change in real-time or in response to personal, demographic, or behavioral data.
"We believe we are in full compliance with New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, and we are committed to leading with industry best practices in this area," an Instacart spokesperson wrote in a Thursday statement. "We look forward to responding to the Attorney General's questions to further clear up any misunderstandings about our prior and current practices."
Instacart shares closed down 3.6% to $43.03 on Thursday.
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2026 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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