Instacart says most of its retailers charge more through its app than in stores, confirming what gig workers and shoppers have suspected for years

• Just 425 of the 1,400 retailers that sell through Instacart charge the same prices in-store and on the app.
• Instacart CEO Fidji Simo said Wednesday that the company encourages retailers to stick to in-store prices.

Just under one-third of the retailers you can order from through Instacart charge the same for their products through the delivery service as they do in their stores, Instacart's CEO said Wednesday.

Out of the 1,400 retailers who sell through Instacart, 425 offer the same prices through Instacart, Fidji Simo told analysts during the company's first-ever earnings call. Instacart went public in September.

Instacart lets retailers decide how much they charge for products for sale through the app, Simo said. But she added that customers who regularly shop for groceries online tend to spend more than their in-store counterparts, and that keeping prices the same could help retailers grow sales online.

"The three largest grocers that are at price-parity with the store, they are growing faster than the rest of the platform," Simo said on the earnings call without identifying the companies.

"Therefore, this is something we highly encourage our grocers to do," she said.

Gig workers have long noticed the difference in pricing. When a shopper checks out with an order, they usually receive a paper receipt with the in-store prices. The customer, meanwhile, receives an emailed receipt where the prices of items might be higher than on the paper receipt.

An Instacart policy prevents shoppers from giving customers the paper receipt. Still, some customers get ahold of it anyway and realize how much some items are marked up.

One customer in Southern California complained on TikTok in July when she realized that Instacart charged her over $500 for items that cost $435 at a Ralph's grocery store. The difference did not include fees that Instacart charges or a tip for the shopper.

Customers are often taken aback when they see the markups, shoppers have told Insider.

"If I gave all my customers receipts, they would stop using Instacart," one shopper in Oregon previously told Insider.

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