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 ...

Instacart has agreed to pay $60 million to settle the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's allegations that the online grocery delivery platform deceived consumers about its Instacart+ membership and free ... ...

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 ...

Volkswagen's Chief Executive Oliver Blume pledged continued cost cutting at Europe's largest carmaker on Thursday, as the company seeks to remain competitive amid industry-wide challenges. ...

About this content About Angela Harmantas Angela Harmantas is an Editor at Proactive. She has over 15 years of experience covering the equity markets in North America, with a particular focus on junior resource stocks. Angela has reported from numerous countries around the world, including Canada, the US, Australia, Brazil, Ghana, and South Africa for leading trade publications. Previously, she worked in investor relations and led the foreign direct investment program in Canada for the Swedish government ...

U.S. stock futures were higher this morning, with the Dow futures gaining around 100 points on Thursday.Shares of Birkenstock Holding PLC (NYSE:BIRK) fell sharply in pre-market trading following fourth-quarter results.Birkenstock reported quarterly earnings of 60 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 40 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $615.404 million which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $606.670 million.Birkenstock said it sees FY2026 adjusted EPS of ...

智通财经APP获悉，周四盘前，Instacart(CART.US)股价下跌6%，此前报道称，美国联邦贸易委员会 (FTC)正在调查该公司的AI定价工具。 Instacart在一篇博客文章中回应称，"最近的报道不准确地将A/B价格测试、动态定价和监控定价混为一 谈，导致相关指控并不能反映我们平台上价格测试的实际运作方式。" 文章写道："我们没有使用，也不允许我们的合作伙伴使用关于个人的个人信息、人口统计数据或用户 层面的行为信息来设定Instacart上的在线商品价格。我们并不控制Instacart上的基础价格。我们的零售合 作伙伴完全掌控商品的基础价格，我们与他们密切合作，以帮助他们实现其特定目标。" FTC在一份声明中表示："联邦贸易委员会长期以来的政策是不对任何潜在或正在进行的调查发表评 论。但是，和许多美国人一样，我们对媒体报道中有关Instacart涉嫌定价行为的描述感到不安。" 一项针对四个城市437名购物者的研究发现，Instacart上存在显著的定价差异，顾客看到的来自同一家商 店的相同商品价格大相径庭。 两名消息人士称，FTC已向该公司发出民事调查要求，寻求获取其Eversight定价工具的相 ...

Maplebear stock was dropping following a report that the FTC has sent Instacart a civil investigative demand over its use of AI-set pricing. ...

核心事件 - 美国联邦贸易委员会已向生鲜杂货配送平台Instacart发出民事调查要求 正在就其人工智能定价工具Eversight展开调查[1] - 调查的核心关切在于为何部分消费者为相同的有机食品支付了显著更高的价格[1] 定价差异发现 - 一项研究揭示 消费者在同一商店购买完全相同的杂货时看到了差异巨大的价格 某些情况下价格高出达23%[2] - Instacart声称这些价格测试是随机化的 并非基于算法针对消费者的浏览历史进行定向定价[2] 动态定价行业背景 - 动态定价并非新生事物 也未必是恶意的 哈佛商学院认为这是数字平台保持竞争力的方式[3] - 航空、酒店行业以及Uber等公司普遍采用动态定价[3] - 公司方主张动态定价有助于平衡供需、实现利润最大化并创造双赢局面[3] 调查的潜在影响与公众情绪 - 为从酒吧回家的打车支付高峰定价与为必需品杂货支付额外费用存在本质区别 因为食品是必需品[4] - 在当前经济环境下 公众普遍感到财务压力 对厨房必需品进行人工智能驱动的价格测试注定会引发关注[4] - FTC此前已调查过其他公司的数据驱动定价策略 因此此次展开调查并不令人意外[4]

核心事件 - 美国联邦贸易委员会正在对Instacart展开调查 调查涉及该公司的人工智能定价工具[1] - 联邦贸易委员会已向公司发出民事调查要求 以获取其Eversight定价工具的相关信息[1] 调查背景与原因 - Instacart的Eversight定价工具允许零售商使用人工智能进行不同价格的测试[2][3] - 近期一项研究显示 不同消费者在Instacart上购买相同的杂货商品时 被显示了不同的价格 这引发了批评[2] - 联邦贸易委员会对媒体报道中关于Instacart涉嫌的定价行为表示不安[2] 公司回应与监管态度 - 联邦贸易委员会遵循其长期政策 不对任何潜在或正在进行的调查发表评论[2]