Today, Explained The Price is Rigged
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Dec 16, 2025 
Derek Kravitz, an investigative journalist at Consumer Reports, and Alfred Ng, a tech policy reporter for Politico, dive into the controversial world of surveillance pricing. They explore how Instacart uses customer data for price discrimination, revealing alarming findings from a live study on algorithm-based price changes. The discussion also touches on the legal gray areas surrounding these practices, consumer reactions, and the FTC's ongoing probe. With insights into the political landscape and legislative attempts to address these issues, their conversation is both enlightening and thought-provoking.
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Instacart Uses AI To Tune Prices
- Instacart's AI (via Eversight) lets retailers test and tweak prices at scale to find what consumers will pay.
- Consumer Reports found 75% of tested products had algorithmically changed prices, sometimes substantially.
Mass Shopping Webinar Revealed Price Gaps
- Consumer Reports recruited hundreds of volunteers to shop the same items live for a pricing study.
- Participants shopped identical products at the same time to measure algorithmic price differences precisely.
Tiny Price Tweaks Yield Big Profits
- These platforms run A/B-style tests that nudge prices up or down to discover optimal price points.
- Small percentage increases can translate to hundreds of millions in revenue for low-margin grocery retailers.