The Price is Rigged

Today, Explained

On Instacart, food brands can use buyer behavior to charge people different prices for the exact same products. It's called surveillance pricing.

This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Dustin DeSoto, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.

The Instacart delivery bear in Minneapolis. Photo By Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

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On Instacart, food brands can use buyer behavior to charge people different prices for the exact same products. It's called surveillance pricing.

This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Dustin DeSoto, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.

The Instacart delivery bear in Minneapolis. Photo By Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2025-12-16 25 min
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