Online grocery prices may vary between shoppers, and U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego is responding with the proposed "One Fair Price Act." The legislation would prevent companies from using personal data to manipulate individual prices, FOX 10 Phoenix reports. Consumer Reports found examples such as Skippy peanut butter selling for $2.99 for some customers and $3.69 for others. Gallego told FOX 10 Phoenix that data-driven pricing creates an “uneven playing field for the individual consumer.”
Local shoppers told FOX 10 Phoenix they were frustrated by “surveillance pricing.” Jason Romero said, “If we're buying the same thing, it should be the same price.” David Miller expressed concern about higher costs affecting his family, noting that buying more essentials like milk could become more expensive.
Instacart says its price differences are not due to “surveillance pricing.” In a statement to FOX 10 Phoenix, the company said pricing tests are randomized, not based on personal or behavioral characteristics. Adam Kovacevich of the Chamber of Progress, representing Instacart, added that differences reflect grocers experimenting with pricing, not customer attributes.
The Groundwork Collaborative, with Consumer Reports and More Perfect Union, conducted a study of 437 shoppers and found significant price discrepancies. Some items had up to five different sale prices at the same time, with gaps as high as 13%, potentially costing the average household an extra $1,200 per year.
A study found that the price of a dozen Lucerne eggs at a Washington, D.C., Safeway ranged from $3.99 to $4.79. Instacart basket totals showed an average variance of about 7% for the same items from the same locations at the same time.
