Instacart has agreed to pay $60 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s allegations that the online grocery delivery platform deceived consumers about its Instacart+ membership and free delivery offers, according to court documents filed in San Francisco on Thursday.Instacart’s offer of “free delivery” for first orders was illusory because shoppers were charged other fees, the FTC alleged.And the company did not adequately notify shoppers that free trials of its Instacart+ subscription service woul ...

Key Takeaways Instacart's use of AI-driven pricing is drawing attention from federal regulators. Early this year, the FTC said that "surveillance pricing," which Instacart says it does not use, has become more popular among online retailers. With surveillance pricing, companies could use data about a shopper such as their location, browsing history, and even the movements of a computer mouse to guess how much they might be willing to spend and influence displayed prices. Shares of Instacart parent Maplebear ...

Core Viewpoint - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Instacart due to concerns over its AI-driven pricing tool, Eversight, which has been criticized for offering different prices to different shoppers for the same groceries [1][2]. Group 1: Investigation Details - The FTC has issued a civil investigative demand to Instacart, seeking information regarding the Eversight pricing tool [1]. - The agency has expressed concern over the alleged pricing practices of Instacart, reflecting a broader unease among consumers [2]. Group 2: Eversight Pricing Tool - Instacart's Eversight pricing tool enables retailers to experiment with various pricing strategies using artificial intelligence [3]. - A recent study highlighted that shoppers on Instacart received varying prices for identical grocery items, raising ethical questions about the pricing model [2].