HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania lawmakers are examining whether artificial intelligence-driven pricing systems could allow retailers to charge different prices for the same grocery items, raising concerns about consumer protection and affordability.
What This Means for You
- Lawmakers are reviewing whether AI-driven pricing could lead to different shoppers paying different prices for identical groceries.
- A proposed bill would prohibit dynamic pricing on essential goods such as groceries.
- The issue gained attention after a report found Instacart tested AI pricing that increased some grocery prices.
Members of the Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee and the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a joint hearing Wednesday to review dynamic pricing practices and their potential impact on consumers.
Dynamic pricing refers to the use of software or artificial intelligence to adjust prices in real time based on factors such as demand, customer behavior, or other data.
Proposed Legislation
Sen. Nick Pisciottano, D-Allegheny, said he introduced legislation aimed at preventing the use of dynamic pricing for essential goods.
His bill, Senate Bill 1205, titled Prohibiting Dynamic Pricing on Essential Goods, would establish safeguards against using AI-driven pricing systems on items such as groceries.
“Families across Pennsylvania are already stretched thin,” Pisciottano said. “My bill would protect working families from unpredictable costs associated with AI-enabled pricing on essential goods.”
Rep. Mary Isaacson, D-Philadelphia, who also helped host the hearing, said unpredictable pricing can create financial uncertainty for consumers.
“When working families are counting every dollar, unpredictable prices are not innovation – they’re instability,” Isaacson said.
Investigation Sparked Debate
The hearing followed a December report by Consumer Reports that examined experiments by the grocery delivery platform Instacart involving AI-enabled pricing.
According to the report, identical grocery products were sometimes listed at different prices for different customers purchasing them at the same time.
Consumer Reports investigative reporter Derek Kravitz, who authored the report, testified at the hearing alongside George Slover, senior counsel for competition at the Center for Democracy & Technology.
Days after the report was published, Instacart announced it had stopped the AI-enabled experiment, which in some cases priced identical products up to 23 percent higher for certain customers.
Lawmakers Raise Consumer Concerns
Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie, chairman of the House Majority Policy Committee, said applying dynamic pricing to essential goods could make it harder for shoppers to compare prices.
“Hotels and airlines adopted dynamic pricing years ago, but applying dynamic pricing to essential goods is a dangerous precedent,” Bizzarro said. “It weakens competitive pressure because consumers can no longer easily compare prices.”
Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh, chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said the hearing was intended to examine how emerging technologies affect consumer costs.
“While dynamic pricing can offer benefits, many people experience it primarily as higher or inconsistent costs, especially for essential services they rely on every day,” Miller said.
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