Wondering how does Instacart work? Check out the latest leave at door delivery option – and get free shipping if you're a new customer!
How Instacart Works & Why I LOVE It
I LOVE INSTACART.
I feel like as a working mom it's the smartest thing I ever do for myself. (Because if you do the math- you're paying around $10 per hour for someone to shop for you and save you your time – I could never get to the grocery store, shop, and get home in an hour so it's super worth it to me!)
I could sing it's praises all day long – I truly do think it saves us money and helps us avoid eating out when I'm crunched for time. Also – this Summer it is letting me spend more time making memories with my people – which I am SO THANKFUL FOR! (Especially since my oldest is going off to college in the Fall – I need all the extra moments I can grab with her.)
How Does Instacart Work – and Is It Worth It?
Wondering just how does Instacart work?
If you're an impossibly-busy mom, who just needs a hand to get everything done, Instacart is a lifesaver. I'm here to walk you through everything you need to know about Instacart – from signing in, to eating a whole bag of Oreos in your pajamas – in no time 🙂 (Go here to get your first delivery free!)
This grocery delivery service combines everything I love about shopping for deals – you still get the weekly B1G1 Freebies, Clippable eCoupons and Extra Savings – along with the SUPER CONVENIENCE of having someone deliver it to your front door.
I mean – HOW. EXCITING. IS. THAT?
Here's a pic my friend Jamie snapped – she said “this little lady came to my door within ONE HOUR and was as sweet as could be. She even sent me this text when she was on the way….”
You can also choose Leave At Door Delivery to have a no-contact experience:
Here’s How Instacart Works: Customers can now opt-in to “Leave at My Door Delivery” as part of their delivery options at checkout, and can also provide more specific delivery instructions like a gate code or apartment number. A real-time photo will alert customers when their groceries are at their doorstep.
Spend 10 minutes adding things to your cart – and get everything you need for the week's worth of meals without giving up your family time!
Test it out for yourself with a FREE Instacart Trial 🙂
How Does Instacart Work Exactly?
Instacart gives me a little of my sanity back on an especially crazy week – and if you need a little more sanity in your life too, let me tell you all about it 🙂
- Head over to Instacart and create an account (Sign up for a FREE 2-Week Trial so you can play around with it)
- Choose a nearby store to shop
- Add items to your cart – at least $10 worth
- Choose your payment method and delivery timeframe
- Instacart will add their Service Fee (5% of your order total) + $5.99 Delivery Fee
- Add a tip on the final page of checkout (Optional but recommended)
- Sit back and wait for your groceries to come to you!
It's REALLY REALLY user-friendly, even those of you who might not be super tech-savvy should have fun placing your first Instacart order 😉
Instacart Promotions
Now that you know how Instacart Works – let's talk promo codes and coupons!
There are several ways to save money with Instacart – and you'll definitely want to take advantage of them to offset the cost of delivery (Cost ranges from $4 – $8 per delivery normally OR FREE if you have Instacart Express, which is $99 annually.)
1 . FREE Delivery On Your First Order.
Instacart offers free delivery on your first order – or a FREE 2-week trial of Instacart Express (their annual plan that gives you free delivery on every $35+ order).
*Please keep in mind that after your 2 week trial of Instacart Express ends – you will be charged the annual fee of $99. You'll be sent reminder emails – but if you don't want to be surprised with a charge, I'd definitely set yourself a google alert so you don't forget to cancel!
2 . Instacart Promo Codes
These change often – but here are some to try (good luck!):
- NEW20OFF for $20 off your first Costco order
- SUPERPOWER20 for $20 off a $50 Order
- WALGREENS20 for $20 off a Walgreens Order
- ORDER2DAY for Free Delivery
- Free Shipping – through July 6th, minimum $10 Order (No code needed)
- Free Delivery on first 3 Orders over $35 with Snap/EBT Payment
- $20 OFF and Free Delivery when a referral completes an order
- $10 OFF when you pay with Paypal (let us know if this one works!)
3 . Savings Offers:
Check out the exclusive “Buy certain products and save $$$” types of offers at the top of the page. Last week I noticed that Kraft cheese was part of a Spend $20 ~ Save $5 promo. (ON TOP OF being B1G1 Free) You'll often find this is the case and you can stack savings together!
4 . Shop Weekly Ad Specials.
I LOVE getting all the BOGO deals each week! You can sort by weekly specials so you can just shop from the sales ad and avoid regularly priced stuff.
5 . Use Instacart Coupons.
When you're figuring out how Instacart works you might noticed special coupons on certain items. Instacart has a whooooole bunch of eCoupons you can clip to apply extra savings to your order. If you've not been successful at couponing the old-fashioned way, this might end up saving you a bundle!
6 . Saves on Gas.
Instead of running all over town you can let your shopper do the running and save on gas.
7 . Helps You Avoid Impulse Buys.
By not being in the store, I'm able to shop my list without much chance of adding in random impulse buys that make me total jump up. For instance, if you pick up random cute stuff every time you go to Aldi – Instacart might be your new best friend!
8 . Refer Friends.
Instacart has a great friend referral program – give a friend $20 off & earn $20 for yourself when you share your link! Make up to $100 this way – nice!
More about how Instacart works:
How much is delivery for regular Instacart orders?
The delivery fee depends on the size of your order and the delivery time that you choose. The fee for each delivery will be displayed when selecting a delivery window during checkout, before you place your order. Please keep in mind that all orders must be $10 or more.
How much is delivery for Instacart Express?
With Instacart Express, you will have no delivery fee on all orders over $35. Instead you're charged an annual fee of $99. Service fees may still apply.
Do I tip my Instacart Shopper?
- Shoppers appreciate tips as a way of recognizing excellent service and 100% of your tip goes directly to the shopper delivering your order.
- By default a 5% tip is suggested at checkout, with a minimum suggestion of $2 per individual store delivery.
- Tips are optional and the default tip may be adjusted at checkout or when rating an order after a delivery. You can add and change a tip amount up to 3 days after your delivery is complete. Your receipt will update accordingly.
How do you know if they'll find you good meat and produce?
Shoppers are guided to look for the freshest possible groceries when shopping for you; paying close attention to expiration dates, broken seals, and produce quality.
What if some of my items are out of stock?
You'll be given the option to pick “back-up” or replacement items if some of your chosen groceries are out of stock. But keep in mind – if you are specifically shopping a sale and you pick items that aren't on sale as your back-ups, you could wind up paying more! You can also choose that NO replacements can be made for certain items.
What's Busy Pricing?
When we experience high demand for a delivery time, a Busy Pricing delivery fee may apply. Your delivery fee will be displayed clearly when you select a delivery time. Delivery fees that include Busy Pricing are noted.
You might also like this post:
Walmart Grocery Pickup Promo Code
SCHOOL SUPPLY PRICE CHEAT SHEET!
Download your FREE cheat sheet now!
I won't send you any spam, ever. Promise.
It’s a nice option but they have now made it the default, so you have to uncheck it every time you order which in my case is often. And if you uncheck the option and then go back to change something in your cart, it will be checked again when you return to the delivery page. You can save your delivery options but it still defaults to leave at door.
Result: twice I forgot to uncheck the option. Once the groceries were left and foundand the other time $450 of groceries either got stolen or the delivery guy never brought them.
It took a few weeks to get the charge reversed.
I’m very unhappy with the service, it says my groceries were on there way, no contact, then they said delivered, no groceries anywhere, delivered nope, no contact, I reached out to get help through chat it said high volume 26xx really, that many tickets, so now 12 hours later I open another ticket even though I left my number for a call back nothing, second ticket is in the 8xx, this is not a good service, I paid for delivery and not I have no groceries no contact nothing and no way to reach them to discuss.
Yup. Some thing happened to me when I accidentally forgot to uncheck this option. No one ever saw the delivery guy and he claimed he delivered the groceries.
Dozens of attempts to reach instacart went unanswered. The only way I could resolve the issue was by disputing the charge with my credit card issuer.
Hi there, I placed my first order and it is supposed to be delivered tomorrow night. When I checked my bank account I have a pending charge on there. Do they place a hold on your money and then actually adjust it after the food is delivered?
Hello I recently ordered. Very pleased but trying to figure out bill. Delivery fee ok but what is service fee and of course tip which amounts to same as tip. Ex: my bill said. Service fee $5.05; tip $5.05 and delivery fee $3.99? Thank you.
Hi Joan! They do take both a service and delivery fee ~ and a tip you are DEFINITELY paying for those (the tip is what the driver actually gets.) Right now especially I think they’re providing an invaluable service – but they do charge for it. Hope that helps!
In my area several stores are available for me to choose from. Can I shop more than one store for my personal shopper to deliver in one day all in the same delivery?
Hi Linda! You can place an order with items from multiple stores, but it creates a multiple delivery order with separate shoppers and delivery window for each store! Sadly I don’t think you can have one shopper make all the deliveries at the same time! Hope that helps!
What do we know about shopper/drivers? Are the background checked? Can we see reviews? Maybe a photo so we know who were answering the door to?
I always see a photo of my shopper once they start shopping. I’ve only had friendly, lovely people so far and I’ve ordered a dozen times or so!
I am a driver. They run a background check. We take little quizzes after training videos.
I am an instacart shopper. When I applied they did a background check on me. I do not know if you see my picture but every so often my app prompts me to tske a selfish so that instacart knows its me and not someone else who is shopping under my name.
Good to know Deneen ~ thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Deb, if not in Instacart area, certain stores, like Giant, offers same service. Giant uses Peapod. Check the various stores.
Hi Deb!! You can just go here and enter your zipcode – it will let you know if they’re in your area yet! http://instacart.pxf.io/c/13478/413183/7412 (Fingers Crossed!)
How do you know if this is available on your area ? I live in a small community. My hubs is disabled and thus would be such a blessing for us .
This sounds like a great service. Bummer, it’s not available in my area. Hopefully soon it will be.
I hope so too Stacey – it looks to me like they’re adding areas quickly so hopefully it won’t be too long til you see it in your hometown too!
Shipt is so much better and they shop at Kroger and Target! It depends on where you live so many different stores. Two week trial and they have sales also.
I’ve only tried Instacart so far and love them, but so glad to hear you’ve been pleased with Shipt too! Thanks for sharing Brenda!
So is tipping the norm with instacart delivery?
Great question Paula! There’s an optional 10% service fee (or tip) that you can choose to add to your total during the checkout process – but you can ALSO wait until after they deliver and add your tip then. (If they were extra speedy or you are just feeling generous!) Either way – a tip is totally optional!