InstaCart Review – Groceries Delivered!

InstaCart Review – Groceries Delivered

Have you tried Insta Cart?  So you can get groceries for your Instant Pot..? Ha! 

As a Mother two little ones, I have seriously loved the trend towards grocery convenience!!!  Heck…I would have loved the trend even if I didn’t have little kids. I just love it all the more in this season of my life! (Cute photo just because I want to…)

I’ve utilized Walmart pickup for years, and my local grocery stores delivery service too. I truly didn’t have too much of a problem with those services! Sure, there were some days I wish I could get an order done that day instead of needing to wait until the next day. It wasn’t until I tried delivery services that could be done within TWO HOURS that my socks were seriously rocked.

I have used InstaCart three times at time of this post. 

I have also used Shipt twice at the time of this post (I’ll make my Shipt experience a separate post too. In my area Shipt delivers from Target and my local grocery store, HyVee).

I used InstaCart once for groceries from Sprouts and twice for groceries from Costco.

My first experience with InstaCart was for a Sprouts order. I really love Sprouts but the location is just not convenient for me. I thought it would be a fun first try :) I downloaded the app to start my order.

In my area, InstaCart also delivers from Natural Grocers, CVS, Petco, Price Chopped and another local pet store.

One feature I enjoyed was the easy option to see what coupons and sales were going on.

As you might imagine, I used the search bar most often but when the items I knew that I needed were in my cart, I went back to the browse area just in case there was something else that caught my fancy. They also include what’s “trending in your area” which is fun to see what items are popular.

It’s very user friendly and self explanatory to place your order on your phone. You can also use their desktop website for ordering (which I did not) if you were at work and didn’t want to use your phone.

Upon checking out, you verify your address, phone number and select the delivery time.  They were open to deliver two hours from my order time! You can also give extra instructions (I have them park in my driveway, etc).

I loved that I could also use Apple Pay right then and there. I used my thumbprint, chose the card and my order was done. You can also input your card information.

My delivery was free, I believe because it was my first time. My Costco deliveries have been free because they are included as a benefit of being a Costco member – so I’ll never have to pay delivery fees from Costco! I’ll include pricing information towards the bottom of the post too. There is an option to tip your shopper after delivery. 

Note: they do charge OVER your order total to allow for the variation. It’s not until the shopper has checked out with your groceries that you will know the true total. 

Then the fun part happens.

All the communication happens within the Instacart app. (Actually, you can also get texts, I just found the app to be a better experience.)

I would recommend keeping the app open or turning on notifications. I was able to see who was shopping for me (this day it was Sade) and when she made a replacement or if she had to refund something that was out.

The IDEAL situation is that you can chat with your shopper in real time to let them know if you want something else. I was able to tell her that I wanted 93% ground beef or turkey as a substitute instead of the 85% beef she had chosen.

Herein lies the drawback for me.

So much depends on your shopper. On this day, Sade was great at responding to my changes but had I not been available to send her messages about what substitutions to make, I would not have been as happy with the order.

THIS is why Instacart asks you to rate your shopper. One of my shoppers told me the ratings are what help them get hours so Instacart takes ratings seriously to make sure they have great shoppers representing them!

The shopper will let you know when they are headed your way. They bring the groceries in, put them where you ask and that’s that. Wahoo! Then you go back to the app, rate the shopper and leave a tip if you haven’t already.

*I tip based on how large my order was and I do increase it if my shopper went above and beyond!

It was a slightly different experience using Instacart for Costco groceries.

Mostly because all the communication happens inside the COSTCO app instead of the Instacart app.

Actually, it’s as if the Costco app has eaten the Instacart app and you are using an app inside an app. (Notice how similar it looks to the Instacart interface once you click on 2 hour delivery?)

That’s the key to Instacart shopping in the Costco app…you want to make sure you use the buttons and prompts in the area that looks like Instacart. If you click on the icons or buttons that are on the top navigation, it will take you back to the Costco side and you can’t find your basket of groceries. That’s okay it saves it when you get back to the Instacart page. 

All in all it’s the same experience. You can real time chat with your shopper, they let you know when they are on their way. You can rate and tip them after the delivery.

Other final thoughts…

I’ve noticed that while I do LOVE the convenience of delivery and I love that I can stay on track of my spending and making good choices…sometimes I do still want to go in the store and walk around and see what’s out there.

I also noticed the items I can get delivered are a little more limited to what’s in the store. It’s still a great selection but when I walk around the store and see an item I want to try, then later try to order it on a delivery, I may not be able to find it for delivery.

Finally, I don’t have a price comparision for certain but I do feel like there is a slightly higher markup on items I’m having delivered, from Costco in particular. I woiuld need to go back and pull up receipts to say for sure, but personally I use the delivery option if I truly can’t get the errand done myself.

Speaking of Costco and Shipt…more blogs coming soon on Bariatric Friendly items at Costco as well as what I’m enjoying about Shipt over Instacart! Sign up for my if you haven’t already!