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Forget coupons, soon you’ll be able to buy the dip on bananas during non-peak grocery hours.
Driving the news: Instacart is being investigated in the U.S. for allegedly charging some of its customers up to 23% more for the same product as their peers — potentially the result of an AI-powered dynamic pricing system.
A study earlier this week pointed the finger at the dynamic pricing system, though Instacart has insisted that the cost differences were the result of randomized pricing experiments.
Why it matters: Whatever you want to call it, rapidly fluctuating prices have become increasingly common, especially for online businesses. One consumer trend analyst told Fortune, “The era of 'fair' pricing is over. The price you see is the price the algorithm thinks you’ll accept.”
Delta Air Lines took heat this year for using an AI dynamic pricing system to charge travellers different prices (software that’s also used by WestJet and Virgin Atlantic).
Wendy’s famously walked back its plan last year to have digital menu boards that would change the price of a Baconator or Frosty in real time based on demand.
Some reports have alleged that Uber’s dynamic pricing system can charge customers more based on their payment method, public transit delays, or even a low phone battery, though Uber has denied the claims.
Zoom out: Retailers in Canada and the U.S. are starting to roll out electronic price tags in stores, and while companies argue they are designed to speed up the process of changing prices, lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups fear it could lead stores to charge more during peak periods of demand.—LA