Same Cart, Different Price: Surveillance Pricing Is Real, and States Are Finally Moving

Picture two neighbors ordering the same carton of eggs, from the same store, at the same minute. One pays more.

Not because of a sale. Not because of a coupon. Because of who the app thinks they are.

That's surveillance pricing. And it's not a theory.

What the receipts show

In December 2025, Groundwork Collaborative and Consumer Reports had 437 shoppers across four cities add the same items to their Instacart carts and record the prices. Here's what they found, as summarized by the New York Attorney General:

• Some shoppers saw prices up to 23% higher for the exact same product, in the same store, at the same time.
• Nearly three-quarters of the grocery items tested showed up at more than one price.
• The average gap between the highest and lowest price for a single item was 13%.
• For a typical family of four, that could add up to about $1,200 a year.

After the study came out, Instacart said it was ending its "item price tests," though partners could keep testing promotions and discounts. In January 2026, New York's Attorney General sent Instacart a letter demanding details on how it sets prices (NY AG).

To be precise about what that study shows and doesn't show: It shows different people seeing different prices for the same thing. It doesn't, on its own, prove exactly which personal details drove each price. That's precisely the problem: from the outside, you can't tell.

How surveillance pricing works

Every time you shop online, you leave a trail. Your device. Your zip code. How often you buy. How fast you click "add to cart." Whether you've abandoned carts before. Sometimes data bought from brokers about your income or household.

Pricing software can combine those signals to guess one thing: the most you're willing to pay. Then it shows you that number.

Washington's own Attorney General flagged this in the state's first Data Privacy Report, listing "individualized pricing and opportunities" as one of three main ways personal data harms consumers, and citing the FTC's 2025 staff study on surveillance pricing (Ashurst Perkins Coie summary).

Who pays more?

Here's what keeps me up at night. If an algorithm learns that someone has fewer options, like no car to drive to another store, an urgent need, or less time to compare, it can learn that this person will pay more.

That means surveillance pricing can quietly become a tax on being busy, being poor, or being in a hurry. The families I work with in the Central District and in Evansville don't have $1,200 a year to lose to an algorithm.

The states moving on it

The legal team at Greenberg Traurig published a state-by-state rundown in September. The highlights:

I love that Connecticut label. Imagine seeing "THIS PRICE WAS INCREASED USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA" next to your groceries. That's what real transparency looks like.

Washington isn't on this list yet.

What you can do right now

You can't fully opt out of algorithms. But you can make yourself harder to read.

1. Compare before you commit. Check the price logged in, then in a private browser window logged out. If there's a gap, screenshot it.
2. Compare with a friend. Same item, same store, two phones. It takes 30 seconds and it's eye-opening.
3. Clear the trail. Clear cookies, or use a privacy-focused browser for shopping. Turn off ad personalization in your Google and Apple accounts.
4. Be stingy with location. Set shopping apps to location "while using" or "never" when you can.
5. Watch the "deals." Loyalty programs are legal and can save money, but they're also how stores learn the most about you. Know the trade.
6. Report it. If you see different prices for the same thing, report it to the FTC and to the Washington Attorney General's consumer protection office.

For business owners

If you sell online, you may be using pricing tools without realizing what's under the hood. Ask your platform: Does any pricing feature use customer-level personal data? If yes, know that it's now regulated in several states where your customers might live, and that it's a trust problem everywhere else.

Fair, transparent pricing is a selling point. Use it.

Pour me another: Have you ever caught a price change based on who was shopping? Tell me through the contact form. I'm collecting stories.

Sip slow, stay curious.D