Grocery delivery service Instacart has decided to discontinue its pricing experiments across the platform, following a recent study that exposed variations in costs for different users and a Federal Trade Commission announcement last week to probe the application.
An Instacart representative told Engadget that the company is halting all such item pricing trials right away, preventing retailers from employing Eversight tools for these activities on the service. The official statement addressed various inaccuracies, stressing that the tests did not involve dynamic pricing models or rely on shoppers' personal data or habits.
In a prior update addressing the research findings, Instacart described the adjustments as temporary, randomly assigned A/B comparisons. It portrayed the method as standard within the food retail sector and aimed at supporting reduced costs overall. The firm also emphasized that it plays no role in determining platform prices, which remain under the control of participating merchants.
Instacart confirmed that its merchant collaborators can keep establishing their individual rates on the service, potentially differing by region in line with physical store practices, though the platform will cease facilitating any pricing trial mechanisms.