A Review of Instacart: Pros, Cons and Tips From 2-Years of Shopping
Updated: Mar 5, 2022
Click on a category to jump forward:
How it Works || Pros || Cons || Stores || Cost || How Does it Compare
BRIEF: HOW DOES IT WORK
Instacart is a grocery delivery services that provide groceries delivered to your door in about 2 hours from several groceries in your area. You order on www.instacart.com or through their app adding items to your cart and then you choose what day/time you want the items delivered. They also have several retail stores as well: see the list here
PROs
no need to navigate to several grocery stores
ability to shop at another store, if you're item is out of stock at one store
saves time for those that have special diets and need to get certain ingredients
makes meal planning a breeze
same-day delivery available
real-time chat with your shopper that allows you to choose to replace or refund items that are out of stock
make comments to items
how many lbs total you need of an item
the size of the produce you want
several grocery stores and retail stores
big bulk stores included: Costco and Sam's Club
Instacart customer service is easy and quick:
easily mark an item that was not delivered or delivered damaged and it will be refunded
alcohol delivery to your door!
ability to schedule when your groceries are delivered
accepts EBT
has group carts where members of your family can add to the cart
ability to add items before your shopper starts shopping
ADDITIONAL SAVINGS with: BoujCrew hacks: Instacart Express and additional deals using both Rakuten and Chase's credit card (more info here)
CONs
delivery fees and 5% service fee applies (without Instacart Express)
need to meet minimum $35 cart (with Instacart Express) to get free delivery
some shoppers may not be as familiar with the groceries
(ex: difference between flat-leaf parsley and Italian parsley)
you MUST be available while your shopper is shopping
in case items are out of stock or they can't find things
shopper error:
incorrect orders delivered
items missed upon delivery
packing issues
holes in packages
notes are not always followed = receive incorrect lbs of meat
sometimes groceries are delivered BEFORE the time you choose
so your groceries may be sitting outside if you don't plan to be home
not available in rural areas
STORES
As of 03.04.22. the stores available in the Phoenix area are:
GROCERY STORES | RETAIL STORES | OTHER |
Sprouts Farmers Market | Michaels | 7-Eleven |
Costco | Dollar Tree | Jacksons Food Stores |
Fry's | The 99 Store | HMart |
Safeway | The Container Store | Sur La Table |
Bashas' | The Body Shop | ButcherBox |
Aldi | Big Lots | Sunbasket |
AJ's Fine Foods | Staples | Quicklly Indian Meal Kits |
Target | Target | The Vitamin Shoppe |
Sam's Club | Best Buy | Five Below |
7-Eleven | Family Dollar | Sephora |
Smart & Final | buybuy Baby | Bed Bath & Beyond |
Natural Grocers | Dick's Sporting Goods | BevMo! |
Restaurant Depot | | Total Wine & More |
El Super | | CVS |
Food City | | Walgreens |
Von Hanson's Meats AZ | | Petco |
COST
Delivery fees start at $3.99 per order PLUS an additional service fee starting at 5% of your grocery total. NOTE: It is also customary to tip your shopper. Get $10 off your first order PLUS free delivery with our referral code here
Instacart Express is an optional subscription service that provides access to unlimited free deliveries for orders over $35. We found it worth it for the last 2 years, as we've used deals to get us a discount
$99 per year
Chase credit cards have waived this fee OR given a discount to the fee in the past 2 years: www.instacart.com/chase
As of 03.04.22 Chase Sapphire, Chase Freedom, Chase Southwest Cards, Chase Marriott Cards and MORE have been offering FREE Express membership!
Reduces service fees on your order
Delivery fees are WAIVED for orders over $35
Minimum service fee is reduced to 1.9% of your grocery total
Layer your SAVINGS by applying Chase savings as above as well as using Rakuten, which gives you cash back for your entire order. In the past month, it ranges from 1-10%.
NOTE: Most links on our website are affiliate links, which means that The Bouj Crew collects a little bit of money or points when you click on certain links. This is to help us with the upkeep and fees associated with running a website, offering products, etc!
COMPARISON TO OTHER SERVICES
With the deals that we propose, I think it's hard to even compare Instacart to others. It offers so many grocery store options than their competitors and the ability to chat with your shopper is a game changer in that it is real-time shopping from your phone. I go MORE in depth with the comparisons in an upcoming blog post
SUMMARY
For me, Instacart has saved me a significant amount of time with the ability to meal plan and add items to your cart as you plan. Being keto (most of the time), it has made finding the more difficult keto items a breeze, as I am now sending someone to do the painful task of searching for lesser known items. I have also found that, in general, the prices are comparable to going to the store (Costco actually has some items CHEAPER on Instacart). You also buy LESS of what you do not need, since you are not in store, although Instacart will advertise some similar items
I also feel like the fact that you are sending shoppers in real-time makes a HUGE difference as you can change/make substitutes at will. For instance, with Walmart, if they are sold out, you cannot get the item. This has been especially helpful during COVID as so many items run out at random items (toilet paper, eggs, etc). Quite frankly, just the ability to reap the benefits of Costco and NOT have to fight the crowd AND parking lot is already worth it, in my opinion (Note: you DO need an active Costco membership)
Our time with Instacart has not been without it's CONS. I once got the completely wrong order - which they let you keep the groceries, but half of the stuff we wouldn't eat! However, customer service immediately remedied, resending another shopper to buy our correct items but you still had to wait all that time. Reporting issues IS easy - you just report on the app if something was broken or missing and customer service refunds you almost instantly.
Of most notable, having Instacart when you're hosting a part is one of the most amazing things ever! I was busy prepping for the party and realized we were out of Solo cups, so instead of having to text all your friends and ask them to grab something for you - you can just have Instacart do it!
TIPS
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INSTRUCTIONS
You can leave notes on how much weight you need: example weight of meat or produce
I have also left notes on difficult to find items, directing the shopper where they are
You can also leave notes on the produce: the greenest bananas, largest possible jalapenos, etc
CHOOSE AHEAD YOUR REFUND/REPLACE OPTIONS:
Instacart allows you to choose your refunds or replacements before your shopper starts. This will help lessen how much your shopper messages you as they are shopping
DON'T RUN OUT OF SPICES, CONDIMENTS, ETC
as I am cooking and notice that I am almost out of a certain spice or condiment, I will add it to my instacart cart, so that I know next time I need to purchase it
MEETING MINIMUMS
To meet the minimums for delivery or free delivery, I add items that don't expire and we eventually need: toilet paper, dish soap, etc
PICK-UPS SAVE EVEN MORE MONEY
Pick up is an option at some groceries. We have used this at Sprouts and it was amazing. You just drive up to the designated spots and our shopper was already waiting outside with our groceries!