The gig economy has unleashed a flood of new opportunities for young, enterprising individuals worldwide looking to earn some extra cash. 

Grocery delivery startup Instacart is one such service that has since gained immense popularity, not just among consumers, but also among seekers of non-traditional, short-term employment, who want to earn money while working on their own time and terms.

In a way, working for Instacart and delivering groceries to people’s doorsteps is the perfect side hustle, but as is often the case with most such opportunities, there are risks, drawbacks, and shortcomings that you need to know about.

In this article, we provide a comprehensive guide on Instacart for potential shoppers and drivers, along with various tried and tested tips, tricks, and best practices to help you excel at this gig!

How Instacart works

Instacart

Instacart is an online platform that allows users to order groceries from a wide range of department stores and supermarkets within their region right from their couch, and have it delivered to their doorstep in about 15 to 30 minutes.

It does not own or operate its own stores, nor does it maintain any of its own inventory, it is entirely a delivery service. It works by having gig workers, or as it calls them, ‘shoppers’ being sent to the relevant stores to shop and pick up the products ordered by customers, before delivering them.

The platform partners with retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Walgreens, and Publix, among several others, that can upload their inventories, along with the pricing, quantities, discounts, offers, and more directly onto Instacart. 

Users can add relevant products to their carts, before checking out and having it delivered to them by one of Instacart’s over 600,000 delivery partners.

Instacart shoppers

As you might expect, the shoppers are at the center of this entire operation. They navigate the aisles at supermarkets to quickly pick up products customers have requested, before battling traffic and the weather to race against the clock to deliver them to their doorsteps.

Now, when it comes to becoming a shopper, there are two options to consider: the full-service shopper versus the in-store shopper. They each come with their share of advantages, risks, and drawbacks that you need to be aware of.

Full-service shoppers

As the name suggests, full-service shoppers are involved in every step of the process. They choose and accept orders that are displayed on the app, head to the relevant store and pick up the products, before driving them to the customer’s location. 

This option comes with a lot of flexibility, allowing you to pick and choose the orders you complete, take breaks between work, and choose your own hours for the most part.

Full-service shoppers tend to earn a lot more, with tips, mileage reimbursement, good pay, and more.

In-store shoppers

On the other hand, in-store shoppers work in specific stores within the Instacart network, and are involved in picking up and packing orders placed by customers, which drivers then deliver.

They are usually stationed at big, high-volume stores, and have a deep understanding of the layouts of their respective stores, helping them to fulfill orders quickly, accurately, and efficiently. 

In-store shoppers, however, are part-time employees rather than gig workers. They are paid a fixed hourly wage, which brings a great deal of stability but comes at the expense of flexibility and earning potential.

Signing up as an Instacart shopper

So, if you’ve decided to try this side hustle, signing up to Instacart is fairly straightforward, with a few simple steps and little-to-no barriers to entry. Pretty much anyone can get started, provided you meet the below requirements.

  • Be at least 18 years old at the time of application 
  • Be eligible to work in the United States
  • Have your own bank account for easy transfers and withdrawals
  • Access to a vehicle and a smartphone to receive and deliver orders
  • Able-bodied and capable of lifting weights as high as 40 lbs

Getting started as a full-service shopper

Getting started

Here are some step-by-step instructions to set yourself up on Instacart:

Step 1 - Decide between being an in-store shopper versus a full-service shopper, as discussed above. There are separate sign-up pages and processes for both.

Step 2 - Click ‘Sign Up’, which leads to a fairly intuitive registration form, requiring all basic and relevant information.

Step 3 - Once that’s done, you’ll be asked to download the Instacart Shopper App to continue the sign-up process. You can download it by scanning the QR code that appears on the screen. 

Step 4 - Using this app you’ll be required to take photos of your driver’s license, followed by some quick questions and bank account details to get paid on time!

Step 5 - Now you have to wait while the application gets reviewed by Instacart. This involves an extensive background check, and there is no clear timeline for the approval process, with users reporting anywhere between 4 days to 2 months before they hear back from the platform. 

Things tend to move a lot quicker in certain regions with high demand, but for others, the platform often takes its own sweet time.

Step 6 - Complete the orientation once approved, which should provide a thorough understanding of the app, the service, your roles, responsibilities, and more.

After this, you’re pretty much set to get out there are start delivering orders. However, make sure to start small and get a lay of the land first, and don’t over-exert yourself too much right away, because that’s how you end up making mistakes.

In-store shopper application

The steps covered above are for the full-service shopper gig, and the process is a tad different for the in-store shopper position, which happens to be a 1099 position. 

As discussed above, this essentially involves working at a single location, where you’ll be picking and packing orders, which will then be delivered by other drivers. Here, you’re more of an employee of Instacart, rather than a gig worker.

These roles are quite limited, and it might take a while before opportunities crop up near you. This role also involves a remote interview, following which you will be assigned to a high-volume store.

Your shifts will be scheduled, and you will have minimum hourly wages, along with paid time off and other benefits.

How the Instacart shopper app works

Once you’re in and eager to get started, it's a good idea to take a look around the Instacart Shopper App. While most essential aspects are covered in the virtual orientation, here’s a brief guide to help better understand the platform.

  1. We start with the Dashboard, which is the first screen shoppers see when they login to the app. In addition to the Menu Bar, which provides quick access to earnings, hours, settings, messages, help, and other essential resources, you can see scheduled orders and on-demand orders, along with the total payout and other details.
  2. The Map is by far the most important element of the app, helping guide you to the pick-up location, and finally the customer’s delivery location, often highlighting roads with the least traffic. Instacart’s maps designate regions of high, moderate, and weak demand, allowing shoppers to move to regions where they can get more orders and better pay.
Instacart app
  1. After reaching these zones, you’ll have to accept orders, often within a 4-minute deadline, failing which you will have to provide the reason for not accepting them. This can be due to low tips, the distance, etc, anything is acceptable. Eventually, you’ll find an order that is more to your liking, or if it's a slow day, you might have to compromise.
  2. You will be provided directions to the store on the map, just like any other rideshare or delivery service. This is included under ‘Arrive At Store’, which also offers information regarding the items, their quantities, and more.
  3. After arriving at the store, shoppers can swipe the green slider at the bottom labeled ‘Slide To Start Shopping’, which then reveals the entire customer shopping list, along with the name, quantity, size, and even an image in most cases. The app also features products that customers would like the shopper to keep an eye out for, along with alternatives in case something is out of stock. All of these are mentioned under the Special Requests section.
  4. The shopper can then go about finding and adding relevant items to their carts. Each time they find the right item, they can take a picture of the barcode using their smartphone camera, before selecting ‘Found Item’ to move on to the next one. This section also features options for when you’re unable to find the products, or if the barcode fails to scan.
Start shopping
  1. In case of missing items, the shopper can put through alternatives, but the updated shopping list needs to be approved by the customer. In the absence of alternatives, customers can provide instructions on what to do next in real-time.
  2. Once the updated shopping list is approved and all the items picked up, the app generates a QR code, which needs to be presented to the cashier at the store. The shopper can then present the cashier with their Instacart-issued MasterCard debit card, from which the total amount will be deducted.
  3. After a final verification, the shopper can head out of the store and swipe the slider labeled ‘Swipe To Start Delivery’ bringing them back to the map, which now shows the fastest route to the customer’s location.
  4. At the end of each shift, shoppers will be asked to complete a small survey about their day. Once completed, you will be led to a screen that shows your performance during the shift, with the total items picked, orders delivered, and the number of items picked per second. You can also compare these figures against your own average, along with the zonal average. Shoppers can then cash out their earnings and have it deposited into their bank accounts in no more than two hours of completing a delivery!
Cashing out

So there you have it, a brief primer on the Instacart Shopper’s App, which if nothing else, helps you better understand the nature and workings of the service. 

The app itself undergoes a dozen different changes and optimizations every few weeks, aimed at improving the overall experience and efficiencies of the shoppers, but the broader system has remained the same for quite some time.

Is shopping for Instacart right for you?

There are several reasons why being a full-service shopper at Instacart is the perfect gig job and side hustle, beating even the likes of Uber and Doordash.

  1. Flexible opportunities - Instacart, like most other opportunities in the gig economy, is all about flexibility. It is perfectly suited for those who want to earn some extra money by working just a few days each week, or a couple of hours each day. You can work when you like and only pick the orders you want to fulfill, with absolutely no boss or rules to micromanage you.
  2. Quick & instant payouts - While Uber and Doordash pay on a weekly basis, Instacart goes a step further with shoppers able to withdraw their earnings within just two hours of order completion. This is perfect for those looking to bridge a gap in their paycheque or in need of emergency cash. All you have to do is make some deliveries, and the money is in your account within just a few short hours.
Instant cashout
  1. Adventurous - If you’re looking for a job that lets you travel across your city, meet new people, and experience new things every day, a delivery job at Instacart perfectly fits the bill! No two days are alike, there are of course plenty of challenges that come your way, but you will never get bored or tired while using the platform.
  2. Robust earnings potential - Once you get the hang of the Instacart platform, learn how to use the demand zones well, and get better at navigating the aisles at the retailer, as well as your city streets, you stand to earn a fairly impressive hourly wage. Now, factor in tips, boosts, good pay, and promotions, and you can earn a decent amount.
Earnings overview
  1. Meet & serve people - Instacart shoppers provide immense value to the community, especially to vulnerable sections such as seniors and disabled individuals. You can find shoppers raving online about how fulfilling this job is, especially in small towns and cities. You will probably deliver to the same elderly couple in a certain part of town several times a month.

    Over time, you get close to them, they might invite you in for a cold beverage on a warm day, and you start talking, that’s how you meet people and build lasting connections.

    A couple of months down the line you’ll have steady relationships with countless customers, along with the clerks, cashiers, and managers at the various retail outlets you shop from. Who knows what this might lead to over time? There are also several cases of Shoppers finding dates and love while making deliveries for Instacart.
Finding love

Understanding the risks & challenges

While Instacart presents a great opportunity for shoppers, it’s not all roses and sunshine. You will have to put up with the occasional bad weather, both figuratively and literally. Here are the risks and challenges you need to prepare for before running errands on the platform.

  1. Inconsistent demand
    While the platform does provide enough orders to keep you occupied for as long as you want, the nature of demand isn’t that steady, and there are days when you can be swamped with orders and a few others with slim pickings.

    The days with high demand will come with higher tips, boost pay, and promotions, but you must put up with other days when things aren’t that exciting. Such fluctuations will make it difficult for shoppers to plan their work.
  2. Errant customers
    While a vast majority of customers will be kind, humble, and patient, you will likely come across a few errant ones, who might pretty much ruin your day if you let them get to you.

    There are those who will give you one-star reviews for just tiny mistakes, speak rudely with you, make undue demands, and worst of all, there are the ‘Tip-Baiters’, who offer high tips to lure shoppers and slash them after delivery.

    This isn’t a very common practice, but it is known to occur. Fortunately, the platform now has certain protections against this in place, and you can flag such customers right away.
  3. Bad weather
    As a full-service shopper, you are constantly on the road, which means you’re also constantly battling the elements, whether it's a thunderstorm, snowing heavily, or 100 degrees outside.

    It is especially during times like these that shoppers stand to earn more, with significantly higher tips and demand-related bonuses, since most people would be unwilling to leave their homes and hit the supermarket themselves.
  4. Vehicle wear & tear
    Most riders fail to factor in the toll that gas, maintenance, and depreciation can take on their profits. Instacart does offer distance pay to cover these issues, but it may not always be sufficient.
  5. Crime
    As part of the job you’ll constantly be visiting new environments and parts of the city you aren’t that familiar with. While this is part of its charm, it can get dangerous if you aren’t careful. There have been several cases of Instacart shoppers getting mugged and their delivery getting stolen, often at gun-point or knife point within these regions.

    The app does have systems in place for shoppers to report unsafe environments, but this often means the loss of the tip, and being placed under a soft ban while the company investigates the issue.
  6. Physical toil
    Constantly bending down, picking up heavy bags to deliver long distances, and driving all day long does take its toll on your body. Consider the ergonomics of your seating, make sure you’re always comfortable, and take plenty of breaks to stretch your legs. 

    Never make the mistake of pursuing quick money at the expense of your long-term health and well-being. To make matters worse, insurance is yet to catch on in the gig economy, meaning you may not find quality health coverage unless you’re willing to part with a significant portion of your earnings each month.

How much can you earn with Instacart?

The prevailing consensus online is that it is possible to make a living by delivering groceries on Instacart, albeit a very tight one. This isn’t bad considering that a vast majority of offline and online money-making opportunities can only pay for the occasional bar tab at most. 

The average earnings of Instacart shoppers in the United States stood at $36,500 annually in 2024.

There are several factors that determine your earnings potential on Instacart:

Location, location, location
When it comes to your average pay on Instacart, it all comes down to where you’re located, and most importantly, where you’re willing to work. Urban regions with plenty of demand will always be on the higher side, with shoppers earning an average of $24 to $26 an hour, which after an 8-hour shift amounts to $200.

Timing is everything
As you can expect grocery orders aren’t evenly distributed throughout the day, there are certain time periods on certain days when they peak, resulting in significantly higher pay, tips, and bonuses.  Shoppers keep their eye out for such peaks and troughs, so they can plan their day accordingly.

Peak earning times

Difficulty
When pricing each batch for the shopper, Instacart gives a lot of thought to the difficulty on their way. This includes the distance that needs to be traveled, the weight of the order, weather conditions, and more. So, if you’re willing to accept more challenging orders, the company will make it worth your while, and you stand to earn above-average pay.

Demand
In the end, pay on Instacart boils down to demand and supply. If there is a lot of demand in a region with few shoppers, the platform resorts to promotions, representing higher earning opportunities. Shoppers can learn about current promotions in the ‘Earnings’ section of their Instacart apps, and choose to accept any active promotion that they can fulfill. 

This, of course, is in addition to the Boosts, which is once again extra pay added to batches when there aren’t enough people to complete orders. During periods of high demand, shoppers also stand to earn high tips, as customers will increase tips to lure shoppers.

Your earnings + how to maximize them

So, all in all, here is how we arrive at your earnings via the Instacart platform,

(Batch Pay + Boosts + Promotions + Tips) - (Gas + Maintenance + Vehicle Rental) = Net Earnings

It seems fairly evident how you can maximize your earnings on Instacart. Pick regions and timings based on the demand indicated in the map, go for batches with high complexity/difficulty, and those that feature reasonably high tips.

You can also consider working during the holidays, or during periods of bad weather when demand often tends to peak resulting in better pay and tips.

Ultimately, increasing your earnings on the platform is all about improving your efficiencies. Once you understand a store, where items are located, the best parking areas, checkout counters, and more, you will be able to maximize your throughput, that is orders and batches delivered within the same time.

Similarly, once you get a feel for the streets, and know where the shortcuts are and where traffic tends to slow down, you’ll be able to complete more deliveries within the same 8 hours, resulting in higher pay.

Make money online with Whop

Whop

The thing is, no matter how efficient you become or how many orders you deliver for Instacart each day, it isn’t going to make you rich. At best, it can help pay for a modest living, but we’re guessing that’s not why most of you are here.

As incredible as Instacart is for side hustlers and gig workers, it is far from scalable and is best suited as a part-time gig when you want to roam around town, meeting new people, while getting paid for it.

When it comes to scalable side hustles, nothing beats the incredible potential of Whop, an online marketplace with 1,000s of communities across various topics and niches. 

The most lucrative opportunity is to launch your own whop using its powerful yet seamless interface and innumerable apps and features. Then start selling digital products! If you’re an expert on a certain topic or niche, consider selling eBooks, courses, webinars and more, all from the same platform.

Whop handles the product delivery and payment processing, so you can focus on creating multiple products to scale your income.  It’s completely free to get started—Whop's fees start as low as 3% cut on each sale. 

So, if you’re ready to turn your knowledge and skills into income while working online, sign up today!