this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
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Late Stage Capitalism
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Algorithmic pricing in grocery stores has been a thing for at least a few decades, though the specific name it went by has changed a lot.
I'd say it began with data collection via those club/loyalty cards, which offered extremely granular transaction data. Around the mid 2010s, "analytics" for FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) were already commonplace to not only track, but to "nudge" you into purchases you wouldn't otherwise, e.g. via notifications or coupons.
This infrastructure which harvests and influences people on such a large scale is arguably the most valuable asset of retailers. It's basically what Big Tech does, after all.
Algorithmic pricing in supermarkets is newer, but Consumer reports has already caught InstaAI pricing fixing for months now.
Exclusive: Instacart’s AI Pricing May Be Inflating Your Grocery Bill - Consumer Reports - https://www.consumerreports.org/money/questionable-business-practices/instacart-ai-pricing-experiment-inflating-grocery-bills-a1142182490/
Weaponized psychology to create docile consumer drones.
If you are using Instacart to buy your groceries, you have no one but yourself to blame.
Might as Door Dash every single meal with the fees you payin. How lazy can you be to not even buy your own groceries?
People with disabilities and without cars exist, you know
Yes but relying on Big Tech and the "Gig" economy for their charity was never going to go well. I can not think of a more iconic duo for exploitation.
My 92 year old grandma who is legally blind manages to get to the grocery store so I don't really feel it's an impossibility. People have been disabled, and without cars, and gotten to the grocery market for literal centuries.
Well back then societal cohesion and family units meant they were provided for, not to mention the difference in food desert ubiquity.
Just because over reliance on a service is bad, or the service can be manipulated, doesn't mean there aren't any people who benefit massively from the service.