Regardless of how you decide to implement this platform into your gig portfolio, one of the important things you need to know is the actual shopping system on Instacart from a technical standpoint.
So in this article, We are talking about:
EVERYTHING You MUST Know about Shopping with Instacart
What they tell you vs how it ACTUALLY is
Everything in between!
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind, This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is advised that you conduct your own research and consult with qualified professionals before applying anything you find online.
I also want to be clear that everything we are going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.
The Instacart Shopper app guides you through the shopping and delivery experience. The app provides guidance so you can successfully complete batches.
Which is partially true, it really depends on the store you are picking up from. If I am shopping at Publix, they will show me the aisle it is in, then I have to find it in that aisle. They do say if it is front, middle or back of the aisle, but it isn’t as helpful as they let on.
In CVS, they give me a general area or section, which has no aisle number, which is annoying because no CVS or any pharmacy is laid out in a linear way, and don’t get me started on the diagonal layout of the floorplan.
7-11 is the same way. So guide is really a loose term.
Flexible Shopping
Flexible shopping means you’re in control of your schedule. You get to choose when and where you shop for batches. The dashboard shows batches to shop and lets you know which store to shop. Tap Go online to get started and then select a batch. Batches include—
Shopping and delivering
Shopping only
Delivery only
Delivery only is not really the subject here, but the type of batch isn’t going to affect the shopping experience, just the number of batches within a single offer. Doubles, Triples, and shop only with a Shop and deliver order, that will change how you shop.
I will make a separate video about the best ways to manage those kinds of orders.
Chat with Customers
You can chat with customers during the entire shopping and delivery experience.
Talk to your customers in-app while shopping so you can—
Say hello
Confirm replacements
Let the customer know when items are out of stock
And more
You will most likely only need to message them if you have a replacement but some shoppers like to message them ahead of time by sending an intro message. I would say if you are going to do that, set up an intro message in the notes section of your phone and just copy and paste.
I will give you a heads up though, if you do send the intro message some customers would see that as an opportunity to add stuff to the order while you are there, as opposed to sticking with the original list.
Not sending a message however, can lead to lower ratings or having a challenge getting in contact with the customer when a replacement is necessary.
Check Out and Delivery
The Shopper app guides you during all phases of shopping including checkout and delivery. Pay for batches using the Instacart Payment Card we mailed you.
If you forget the card and for whatever reason you still want to get a reimbursement, I advise against it but I did make a video on that I will leave a video on that in the description feel free to check that out.
Replacement Suggestions
The Shopper app provides replacement options if a customer’s items are out of stock.
The app will provide replacement options and you can always message the customer and ask if they’d like a replacement or not.
Obviously, stick to the suggestions initially, but if you have to call the customer to do so, if they choose to be unresponsive, give them 30 seconds and move on. Getting ghosted is not your time to waste, it is them choosing to ignore you.
Also, if they give you a hard time post checkout about “oh I was busy” well so are you, if they can’t pick up the phone then you have to move on, no exceptions.
Know Your Stores
One of the best ways to get shopping orders done faster and more effectively is by shopping at a store you know.
Personally, my best Instacart stores are a local Publix that I shop at personally, Walgreens that I shop at every now and then, and some other smaller stores that are easy to memorize.
If I shop at the Target that is near me, not only am I going to have a hard time finding everything in a store with a questionable aisle system, but I usually shop at Walmart, so I may not know which items are where.
Repetition also helps too, like if you notice a lot of good orders come from certain stores and you want to pick up from them too, even though you don’t shop there, I say go for it. The more you do something the better you learn the stores, the less time you spend on orders.
Smaller Store, Better ROT
I find when you are shopping in a store that is smaller in size, it is much easier to complete orders, especially when it is something like Alcohol or a convenience store, which usually has smaller item/unit counts as well.
That benefit also comes with a better Return on Time (ROT), meaning you will be completing the shopping for the order much faster than a larger Grocery Store order.
Which is good to know if you are a food delivery driver before a shopper and will want to take orders with lower item counts anyway.
Larger Store, Bigger Items
One of the common strategies that a lot of shoppers on Instacart uses is to park in a parking lot of a wholesale club and do a shopping order with a larger payout that way.
That said, most people who do that are doing it with the expectation of a car being full of larger items, meaning they are driving a larger vehicle and are expecting heavy lifting to be necessary, maybe he has a wagon of some sort.
That said, the payouts will naturally be higher because of the tip and sometimes the item count is not too much either.
Multi-Batches and Cart Management
So if you are the kind of person who takes Double, triple or combination batches (1 shop only, 1 shop and deliver) you might want to make sure you go in with a plan for cart management.
Sometimes one order is just so much bigger than the other so they have a basket in the cart, and sometimes they have to have a second cart because they are both the same size.
I would make sure you plan that out ahead of time though, that way you aren’t stopping between shops to get another cart or you mix up the orders by accident.
Perishable Management
If you take orders with perishables some things I would recommend is shopping for it last, and having bags available to keep items cold.
If you are someone who is prioritizing shopping over every other type of order, you might want to look into investing into ice packs and a cooler for the frozens and refrigerated items.
If you are someone doing all kinds of deliveries and shopping is not really a priority for you, totally understand, you probably wouldn’t need to do this.
Drivers that use Instacart as part of a gig portfolio don’t really need to have that because they are much more selective with the orders they take anyway. So freezing ice packs only to have them melt won’t do much.
That said, I still recommend having hot and cold bags regardless of which app you are a part of.
Learn from Other Shoppers
One of the best pieces of advice I can give to anyone in the gig economy is to learn from other shoppers who are also on the ground with you. Instacart will tell you what will benefit them, whether it benefits you is irrelevant.
Other shoppers on the other hand, may give you tips and tricks to help you move more efficiently based on personal experience, which in turn will help you!
“Other Shoppers” could be some friends and family who have done it before, we just had a live stream about item replacements, and of course there is the community of shoppers and drivers in the Driven Wyld Discord Server.
The Driven Wyld discord community is exclusive for gig workers looking to expand their knowledge and expertise in their self-employment and entrepreneurial journey by joining our community.
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If you would like to add some other perspective to how Shopping on Instacart works from a Shoppers Perspective, feel free to email me: drivenwyld@gmail.com and who knows? Maybe your email or perspective and be featured in a post as well!
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