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Is Instacart Worth It? Pay and Requirements

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Updated on September 15, 2022 by
Is Instacart Worth It?

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How do you start working with Instacart?

If you are interested in working with Instacart, you should know that this is a highly popular grocery delivery service. If you have access to the internet, then you can start working with Instacart. You can easily sign up for this company through their website. You will also be able to sign up through the Instacart app on your smartphone.

You start working with Instacart online and once you start shopping, the app will show you a list of your orders that are currently available for you to complete.. You can claim any Instacart batches that you find online that you like, and then shop when you’re ready to. When you enter a store in-store, Instacart lets customers know that you’ve started shopping for them.

When you shop in-store and find products that the customer has asked for, you mark them in the app as found. Instacart allows you to scan product barcodes or simply enter the name of the product to confirm that you have added it to your cart. Once you have received all the products in your order, you are ready to pay. Instacart shoppers get a special card from the company for this purpose. It’s like having a prepaid debit card, but specifically meant for Instacart orders.

What are the qualifications for working for Instacart?

If you want to work with Instacart, then it is important that you understand the requirements that they have in order for them to hire people like yourself. In general, there are some requirements that all of their employees need in order for them to be able to use this service effectively and efficiently as well as get paid properly for what they do each day when they work with Instacart.

Instacart shoppers are divided into two: full-service shoppers and in-store shoppers. As such, each type of shopper has different qualifications. Full-service shoppers will have to shop for a customer’s orders in the store as well as later deliver the orders to the customer. This type of shopper needs to have a smartphone with the Instacart app installed, as well as a phone number that is listed on their account. The shopper will also need to have a reliable vehicle, be able to carry 50 pounds at a time, and have a valid driver’s license.

In comparison, in-store shoppes only need to be able to shop for orders and deliver them to the customer. Usually, customers may wait on the curbside of a grocery store, then hire the service of Instacart shoppers because they don’t have the time to do the shopping by themselves. As such, in-store shoppers do not need to own a vehicle themselves, since all they need to do is the shopping.

Is Instacart Worth It?

How much money can you get with Instacart?

Instacart shoppers earn about $15 to $20 per hour, depending on the market and your shopping speed. Earnings are dependent on the type of market you shop in, how many orders you get, what the size of the orders you receive, and how fast you shop. You get 100% of all the tips you get from shopping with Instacart, so your actual hourly earnings fluctuate greatly. It’s realistic to make a couple hundred dollars a week extra by working hard.

To earn $500 a week working for Instacart, you would need to shop about 25 hours a week and get paid an average of $20 per hour. It’s realistic to earn $20 per hour for shoppers in busy markets, but it also assumes that you get a good amount of orders from customers and that you shop effectively. It’s possible to get lucky with huge tips.

Your Instacart Shopper rating will determine what orders you get from other shoppers. If you have good shopper’s ratings, you will get more orders from higher paying orders. This means being friendly, punctual, and delivering the product on time is absolutely essential to consistently get high ratings on Instacart.

How do you maximize your Instacart earnings?

Instacart Shopper ratings vary greatly depending on market, shopping speed, and shopper’s attitude towards customers. In order to increase your rating and improve your chances of getting more orders from customers in higher paying markets, it’s important to be friendly, polite, and professional with customers at all times while shopping. If you have any problems while shopping or while picking up orders from the customer, you should politely explain the situation to the customers so they won’t dock points from your final rating. You will earn a lot more tips from these customers than from those who are less satisfied with their orders.

As a new shopper, you should also work on building up your Instacart skills so that you can make better use of your time when shopping for customers. Once you get to know how things work on Instacart, you will be able to optimize your shopping process and make better use of your time.

What are alternative options to Instacart?

Instacart isn’t the end all be all solution to gig economy apps you can try out. If you own a vehicle, you can try out other apps that will pay you for driving and delivery services, such as DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, and Postmates. These apps are not just for delivery, but also for picking up food and drinks from restaurants.

As mentioned above, Instacart shoppers get 100% of all the tips they earn while shopping for customers. It’s possible to make a couple hundred dollars extra per week by shopping hard in high paying markets and getting paid a decent amount of tips by customers who are satisfied with their orders. Your actual earnings will vary greatly depending on market conditions and how many orders you get each week.

Many would recommend actually not simply working for one delivery service platform, but rather making use of the flexibility that the gig economy offers. You can use other apps to do delivery, picking up, and food delivery. You can try out the apps that we have mentioned above and other options to maximize your earnings and make good use of your time while working.

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