 |
|
|
|||||
New York Attorney General Letitia James is demanding more information about Instacarts recent and highly controversial price tests, and suggesting that the schemewhich saw customers charged notably different prices for the same products when offered at the same storesmight have violated a new state law. Late last year, Consumer Reports and the Groundwork Collaborative released an investigation that found that a single item posted on Instacart could have as many as five different prices, and that costs for a single item could range from just 7 cents to $2.56. The investigation found that while some prices changed, and some differed only marginally, for some itemsincluding Oscar Mayer turkey and Skippy peanut butterthey could vary by more than 20 percent. In response to the widespread outcry and accusations that Instacart had deployed surveillance pricing, the company turned off technology that, it argued, had sought only to allow retailers who wanted to experiment with prices offered at their own stores. Instacart denied ever using demographic information to set prices, or using dynamic pricing or surveillance pricing. Pricing is complex, and retailers have long used different approaches across different markets, wrote the company in a blog. Just as prices can vary between physical store locations, retail partners may continue to vary item prices on a store-by-store basis on Instacart. In a letter sent on Thursday, the New York attorney generals office suggests that Instacarts test may have violated a new state law, the Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act. The legislation went into effect in November and bans platforms from using algorithmic pricing without clear, prior disclosure to customers. Its one of the first laws in the country that requires companies to be this transparent. New York is accusing Instacart of burying its disclosures. In the letter, the attorney generals office says that Instacarts disclosure on a page linked to certain retail stores front pages was accessed by clicking fine print text and wasnt clear and conspicuous. Moreover, the office argues the prices didn’t appear on category pages listing product prices or on individual product pages displaying price, as required by law. New York is now asking for more details from Instacart about its price setting agreements, the tools the company used to control displayed prices, and information about its efforts to meet the standards set out in New York law. Charging different prices for the exact same products leaves shoppers feeling cheated and threatens to raise costs at a time when consumers are already paying too much at the grocery store, James said in a statement. Instacarts pricing experiments raise serious concerns about its use of algorithmic pricing.
Category:
E-Commerce
If you had a severe case of the Sunday Scaries last weekend, you are not alone. Its a sentiment many have been sharing online. Ready or not, with it comes an influx of unread emails, meeting invites, and responsibilitiessmugly pushed to the New Year in the last weeks of Decembernow coming back to haunt us all. Indeed, the first Monday of the year is the Monday-est Monday of all. Oh god, one TikTok user posted on Monday 6th. Everyone is circling back. Worst aesthetic ever: Back to work in the first week of jan, another wrote, riffing on TikToks rare aesthetic trend. Some have used the lyrics to The Smiths Heaven Knows Im Miserable Now” to sum up the feeling of corporate workers logging back on the first Monday of the year. After weeks of late nights of holiday fun, overindulgence, friends and family time and a slower pace of life, the abrupt shift back to the corporate grind can trigger feelings of anxiety in even the most enthusiastic of employees. Monday 5th January isnt for the weak, another TikTok user wrote in the caption of a clip. The idea of an unwanted convo at 9am on Monday 5th, the closed captions reads, soundtracked to frantic voiceovers sputtering workplace jargon, including KPIs, decks, emails, and Salesforce. If this week so far youve felt unusually slow, unfocused, or overwhelmed, youre likely experiencing what is commonly referred to as the holiday hangover, or January blues. These feelings are not unique to one generation or another, and tend to resurface like clockwork come January each year. As another TikTok user wrote: The way I logged on after two weeks off only to realise i can barely remember what i was doing when I left or what im supposed to be doing now so im lowkey terrified and every email and teams alert feels like a jack-in-the-box. Relatable. While time off work over the holidays has been linked to reduced stress and overall improved health, these benefits tend to vanish relatively quickly once back to work. And research has shown when workers are expected to hit the ground running after a break, they often experience depleted energy, focus and motivation. Reestablishing some semblance of routine post-holidays is essential for keeping the January blues to a minimum. This means fixing sleep schedules after going to bed consistently after midnight and waking up at midday for the past few weeks. Giving up the chocolate and leftovers from the fridge diet and going back to overnight oats and desk salads. And not only having to remember what day of the week it is, but also spending the next few months mistakenly writing 2025, crossing it out, and rewriting 2026. The key is to keep expectations low. If you simply showed up, caught up on the post-holiday small talk with colleagues, and made it to 5 p.m.? Honestlythat’s enough for this week.
Category:
E-Commerce
American Airlines will begin offering free, high-speed Wi-Fi on flights beginning this month. The airline made the announcement this week in a press release, explaining that the service will extend to around two million flights in 2026. However, not all fliers will receive the perk. The new service will be sponsored by wireless provider AT&T. Free high-speed Wi-Fi isnt just a perkits essential for todays travelers,” said Heather Garboden, chief customer officer at American Airlines, in the release. The rollout won’t kick off all at once, the announcement explained, but instead will happen in phases. This month, the service will be available only on “narrowbody and dual-class regional fleets,” the announcement says. But in just a few months, it will be made available on “nearly every American Airlines flight.” Who gets free, high-speed Wi-Fi? While the service will be available on almost all flights, it’s not for everyone. Eligible fliers have to be in the airline’s loyalty program, AAdvantage. If you aren’t a member but want to become one, you can sign up for a free account on the American Airlines website by providing a few personal details. Doing so will enable you to start earning miles, loyalty points, and free Wi-Fi on flights. How can AAdvantage members access free Wi-Fi on their flights? Accessing free Wi-Fi for AAdvantage members can be accomplished through the new and improved aainflight.com portal. Customers will be asked to log in using their AAdvantage membership number and password. Then, they can select Free Wi-Fi to start using the service. If you don’t have access to free Wi-Fi, it’s available on most American Airlines flights for $10. Who else offers free Wi-Fi? Not having to pay for Wi-Fi is certainly a desirable perk for fliers. However, American Airlines is not the first to offer it. Many U.S. airlines, like Delta, United, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Southwest, also ensure free Wi-Fi for loyalty members. However, JetBlue remains the only U.S. airline that offers free Wi-Fi to all travelers on most of its flightsa service it first rolled out in 2013. By January 2017, the service was extended to all flights. Wi-Fi for non-members costs around $8 to $10 on most carriers. But for longer, international flights, prices can go up to as much as $35. Frequent fliers, especially those who are traveling internationally often and want Wi-Fi access, can save money by purchasing monthly Wi-Fi passes on their preferred airline, rather than paying for the service on each and every flight.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||