How Instacart Works
What is Instacart?
Instacart is an on-demand delivery platform that connects deliverers with customers who want groceries delivered to their homes.
Instacart was founded in 2012, and is available in most major U.S. cities. Apoorva Mehta is Instacart’s founder and became a Billionaire at age 33.
Although not the biggest player in the sharing economy, Instacart is a growing player and is currently valued at over $2 billion.
How Instacart Works
So how does Instacart work? Easy. Users log onto the Instacart website or app to choose the groceries they want from the stores they want.
The shopper then travels to the store, pays for the groceries with Instacart’s prepaid debit card, and then delivers those groceries to the customer.
Simple as that.
For users, Instacart offers a membership fee for 1 year priced at $99. With this membership you get free delivery for the year. Otherwise, orders over the amount of $35 required a $4-$6 fee, and for orders under $35, there is an $8-$10 fee.
Instacart Features
An interesting feature for users of Instacart is that you can schedule an order for a particular date and time. Need those low-fat creamers once a month? No problem!
Also, Instacart is great for people who want to shop at Costco, but do not have a membership. With Instacart, shoppers are prepared with a Costco membership so you don’t need one.
What if a product you want isn’t available? Instacart has a substitution feature where you can choose alternatives when selecting groceries.
So if they’re out of Taco Explosion Doritos, you can settle plain ruffles and chili powder.
Instacart doesn’t work with every grocery store, so you can check their service area page to see which grocery stores are offered in your area.
Once you place an order, the confirmation page will give you updates on how the order is progressing, the name of the shopper, when they finish shopping, and when they’re en route to you. Receipts are then conveniently e-mailed to you.
How to Make Money on Instacart
As with any service, there are fees associated with Instacart, and this is how they, and the shoppers, make their money.
The Instacart shoppers receive orders directly on their smartphones. Shoppers will then go pick up the identified products at the selected stores and then deliver them to the buyers.Instacart makes money from the delivery fee and price markups on certain food items. But, the markup can also be a markdown. Sometimes Instacart will charge less than the in store price for a particular item.
If you’re looking to apply as a shopper, check out their website and application process. The good thing about being a shopper with Instacart is that any type of car fits their requirements as long as it’s functioning. Even this:
As a shopper, you do need to complete a background check, need to be 21 years or older, you need to be able to lift 30 pounds at least, and own a smartphone obviously.
This is how Instacart works.
Are you regularly looking to fill spare time slots in your day? Looking for a flexible job option where you can simply turn on your phone and accept work? Check out Instacart now, work a few jobs, and see if it’s right for you.