Instacart Agrees to $60 Million Settlement in FTC Consumer Protection Lawsuit

Grocery delivery firm Instacart is set to pay $60 million to refund consumers who were misled into signing up for its subscription service, Instacart+, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC revealed that Maplebear Inc., the company behind Instacart, deceived customers by advertising their first order as “free,” while still imposing a mandatory grocery delivery fee. This information comes from a complaint and settlement filed in federal court in California on Thursday. Additionally, the agency noted that Instacart failed to provide clear disclosures regarding the terms of its Instacart+ subscription service and did not offer refunds. Instead, customers were given credits for future orders.

In response to these allegations, Instacart issued a statement asserting, “We flatly deny any allegations of wrongdoing by the agency, and we believe the foundation of the FTC’s inquiry was fundamentally flawed. We stand firmly behind the integrity, transparency, and value of our programs.”

Instacart has recently come under increased scrutiny regarding its pricing practices. A December report by Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization, indicated that the company’s AI-driven pricing experiments resulted in customers being charged different prices for the same product. Instacart responded by claiming that the report “inaccurately blurred together fundamentally different things: A/B price tests, dynamic pricing, and surveillance pricing.”

Earlier reports from Reuters indicated that the FTC had sent inquiries to Instacart regarding its use of AI-enabled pricing tools, further intensifying the scrutiny on the company.

The lawsuit and settlement involving Instacart are part of a broader trend by the FTC to address concerns surrounding digital subscriptions that are perceived as difficult to cancel. In September, Amazon.com Inc. agreed to pay $2.5 billion to resolve allegations that its Prime subscription was too challenging for consumers to cancel. The agency is also pursuing a case against Adobe Inc. regarding its annual subscriptions for creative software like Photoshop.

Adobe is currently contesting the FTC’s claims in court, asserting that it maintains transparency regarding its subscription agreement terms and cancellation processes.

Similarly, Uber Technologies Inc. is facing scrutiny from the FTC over its subscription practices, stemming from an April lawsuit. Recently, 21 US states and the District of Columbia joined the FTC in this lawsuit against Uber, which has denied any wrongdoing and is contesting the case.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Grocery delivery firm Instacart is set to pay $60 million to refund consumers who were misled into signing up for its subscription service, Instacart+, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC revealed that Maplebear Inc., the company behind Instacart, deceived customers by advertising their first order as “free,” while still imposing a mandatory grocery delivery fee. This information comes from a complaint and settlement filed in federal court in California on Thursday. Additionally, the agency noted that Instacart failed to provide clear disclosures regarding the terms of its Instacart+ subscription service and did not offer refunds. Instead, customers were given credits for future orders.

In response to these allegations, Instacart issued a statement asserting, “We flatly deny any allegations of wrongdoing by the agency, and we believe the foundation of the FTC’s inquiry was fundamentally flawed. We stand firmly behind the integrity, transparency, and value of our programs.”

Instacart has recently come under increased scrutiny regarding its pricing practices. A December report by Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization, indicated that the company’s AI-driven pricing experiments resulted in customers being charged different prices for the same product. Instacart responded by claiming that the report “inaccurately blurred together fundamentally different things: A/B price tests, dynamic pricing, and surveillance pricing.”

Earlier reports from Reuters indicated that the FTC had sent inquiries to Instacart regarding its use of AI-enabled pricing tools, further intensifying the scrutiny on the company.

The lawsuit and settlement involving Instacart are part of a broader trend by the FTC to address concerns surrounding digital subscriptions that are perceived as difficult to cancel. In September, Amazon.com Inc. agreed to pay $2.5 billion to resolve allegations that its Prime subscription was too challenging for consumers to cancel. The agency is also pursuing a case against Adobe Inc. regarding its annual subscriptions for creative software like Photoshop.

Adobe is currently contesting the FTC’s claims in court, asserting that it maintains transparency regarding its subscription agreement terms and cancellation processes.

Similarly, Uber Technologies Inc. is facing scrutiny from the FTC over its subscription practices, stemming from an April lawsuit. Recently, 21 US states and the District of Columbia joined the FTC in this lawsuit against Uber, which has denied any wrongdoing and is contesting the case.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.