• The FTC wants information about how companies personalize prices.
• The Commission said that it sent orders to companies from Uber to Walmart.
• The orders ask about web use habits and other personal information.

The Federal Trade Commission is asking companies from food delivery services to airlines about how they use personalized prices.

The Commission said on Wednesday that it sent orders to the companies asking for details about what kind of personal information they use to determine prices. The orders target a wide range of companies, from retailers Walmart and Target to food delivery services Uber and DoorDash to airlines like Delta and United.

"Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer," said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson.

"Workers also deserve to know if their compensation is affected by how companies use their personal data," Ferguson added.

Several companies pushed back against the FTC's claims.

"There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal data," a Delta spokesperson said.

"We do not use personal information to set prices, and we never will," Instacart said in a statement.

Walmart and Target previously said they would be transparent about their pricing strategies as more stores start using digital price tags.

A growing number of companies are using dynamic pricing to determine what customers pay for everything from concert tickets to jeans.

Some companies use similar methods to determine how much workers get paid. Uber presents its drivers with potential payouts that aren't based on a per-mile or per-minute rate, for instance, but instead consider factors such as demand.

The FTC's orders ask the companies to submit information about their pricing methodologies, including how they use AI, going back to January 1, 2023. It also asks for research that the companies have done on their pricing strategies, such as A/B tests.

The Commission is also seeking information about how the companies used similar technology to offer workers jobs, according to the orders.

Do you have a story idea about Uber, DoorDash, or Instacart? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Instacart is shuttering its team focused on smart shopping carts.
• The company will wind down its Caper cart division by the second quarter of 2027, it said Monday.
• The smart shopping carts were "the future of grocery shopping," Instacart's former CEO said in 2024.

Instacart is carting away a technology it once said would play a key role in shopping.

The grocery delivery company will wind down the team that develops its Caper smart shopping carts, it said on Monday. The move, approved by Instacart's board of directors, will be completed by the second quarter of 2027.

A wind-down will cost the company between $55 million and $80 million, including the costs of terminating some employees and contracts, it said in a filing with the SEC. Instacart will reinvest savings from the decision into "strategic growth initiatives."

Caper carts were one of the most visible of Instacart's retail technology efforts. The company began as a delivery-focused startup in 2012, but diversified into selling technology to retailers over the last several years.

Equipped with cameras and sensors, Caper carts could weigh fruit, track what customers placed inside or removed from them, apply coupons, and accept payments when customers were done shopping. Instacart also saw an opportunity to serve users tailored ads on the carts' screens.

In early 2024, Instacart said it planned to roll out "thousands" of the Caper carts to stores. Then-CEO Fidji Simo said: "We really believe that it's going to be the future of grocery shopping."

Amazon, which makes a similar smart shopping cart, said at the start of 2026 that it planned to start using a new version at Whole Foods Market stores.

Do you have a story idea about Uber? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.