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Instacart takes dynamic grocery pricing to new levels

“Instacart is quietly running pricing experiments on millions of shoppers during the worst grocery affordability crisis in a generation, and it’s costing households as much as $1200 a year,” said Lindsey Owens, executive director at Groundwork Collaborative. “They have turned the simple act of buying groceries into a high-tech game of pricing roulette.”

December 10, 2025 Quartz

Press Release

Fed’s Rate Cut Proves Consumers are Desperate for Relief from High Prices, Economic Upheaval, Says Groundwork’s Jacquez

The Federal Reserve today announced it will cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%.

December 10, 2025 Groundwork Collaborative

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Holiday gifts are 26% more expensive this year thanks to tariffs — these presents will hit your wallet the most

A new analysis of an annual gift guide from New York magazine shows that key holiday items this year are 26% more expensive on average versus 2024, according to Groundwork Collaborative, a nonprofit consumer advocate.

December 10, 2025 New York Post

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Instacart Shares Fall on Report of Experimental Price Testing

Instacart shares fell after a report accused the company, also known as Maplebear, of charging different prices for the same items. The stock was down 6% to $43.47 in Wednesday morning trading. Shares are up 5% this year. The report, led by Consumer Reports, progressive think tank Groundwork Collaborative, and progressive media outlet More Perfect Union, said the San Francisco grocery-delivery company displayed several different prices for users who added the same item from the same store at the same time.

December 10, 2025 The Wall Street Journal

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Study finds some shoppers pay different prices for same groceries

A small case study from Groundwork Collaborative and Consumer Reports looked at nearly 200 grocery shoppers in four U.S. cities that went on the app Instacart and shopped for the same products at the same time.

December 10, 2025 Good Morning America

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Instacart’s AI technology is hiking prices as much as 20% for the same item, new study reveals

An investigation from Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative revealed Tuesday that Instacart displayed different prices on the same household staples sold at well-known stores, including Albertsons, Costco, Kroger, Safeway and Target. The report said customers are “unknowingly part of widespread AI-enabled experiments.”

December 10, 2025 CNN

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Instacart charges shoppers different prices for same items, report says

On average, that could cost a family of four a swing of $1,200 based on Instacart's prices, the study by Consumer Reports, More Perfect Union, and Groundwork Collaborative, a Washington, DC-based think tank, found.

December 10, 2025 USA Today

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Nvidia’s Washington charm offensive has paid off big

“It’s representative of Trump policy, which seems to be based on whomever was in his ear last and not part of a coherent strategy,” says Alex Jacquez, who was special assistant to President Biden for economic development and industrial strategy at the National Economic Council.”

December 10, 2025 Fast Company

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Instacart’s AI pricing tools drive up the cost of some groceries, study finds

The study, released Tuesday by Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive advocacy group, Consumer Reports and news organization More Perfect Union, enlisted 437 shoppers across four cities to add the same items to their carts within the Instacart app from the same store.

December 9, 2025 CNBC

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Same Product, Same Store, but on Instacart, Prices Might Differ

The findings are the latest example of how the notion of a single price is breaking down in the digital age, a trend economists say could be pushing up some prices.

December 9, 2025 The New York Times