When Covid cases started spiking again here in Montgomery County (Maryland suburb of DC), our county commissioner (who I’m not at all a fan of) implemented some of the most intense restrictions in the DMV. Perhaps the most annoying part of it is the restrictions at grocery stores, entailing often hours-long waits to even go inside.
Seeing as people, myself included, need groceries from time to time, I decided to give Instacart a try. I also value my blood pressure and having to wait in line to go grocery shopping gets my goat more than anything.
In short, Instacart is an app/website that connects you with a shopper who delivers your groceries to you. You build you cart, pay for it, and a shopper then starts adding your groceries to a cart in the store and you’re updated the entire time. The shopper is accessible by chat throughout the entire shopping process and you can add and substitute things as you go along. Sometimes your shopper then drives your groceries to you and sometimes the shopper and the driver are two different people. You can set your preferences for grocery delivery. Do you want it left at your front door? Do you want them to ring the doorbell and you receive the order? Anyway, it’s a pretty great and streamlined experience.
Having been with Instacart for a while now, I thought it might be worthwhile to share my experience to see if it resonates with you.
Do you genuinely enjoy grocery shopping?
Answer for me? Hell yes. When we don’t have capacity restrictions, I love to go to the grocery store and just browse, sometimes for a long time. That being said, with restrictions, grocery shopping can be anywhere from frustrating to downright infuriating. These days, I kind of hate everything about it so Instacart makes sense.
Are you an impulse shopper?
If the answer is yes, Instacart might be a great way to curtail that. You put what you need and nothing more in your online shopping cart. I’m usually pretty good about sticking to my list when I go grocery shopping, but the occasional bag of M&Ms has been known to sneak in to my shopping cart…
Are you a Trader Joe’s purist?
Unfortunately, Instacart does not deliver Trader Joe’s which is SUCH a bummer. Trader Joe’s is my absolute favorite grocery store, so much so that I’m willing to drive down to the Virginia side to shop there (restrictions aren’t as bad there). The fact that they’re not on Instacart is a major drawback for me.
Do you have time to grocery shop?
Some people, myself included, have the tendency to keep more than slightly insane schedules and sometimes genuinely don’t have a spare second to run to the store. Maybe you have kids at home and grocery shopping is way more of a hassle than it’s worth. Furthermore, if you’re in a Covid-restrictive area like I am, adding a wait to even get in to the store takes even more time. It’s super nice to just click a few buttons and have your groceries show up at your house a few hours later.
Are you on an extremely tight budget?
For some people, time is money and outsourcing grocery shopping is a no-brainer. . For others, forking over the extra money forInstacart, but certain, less expensive and generic items are not always available on Instacart. Many stores also increase prices for Instacart, which is their right to do. If you’re the type of person who has a strict grocery budget and knows that you can resist impulse shopping to keep you on track, maybe in person shopping is the best option.
Do you feel unsafe when you shop?
We all know that we’re living in weird times. While there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I’ll never fault anyone for being careful about Covid. You can’t put a price you your peace of mind, so if you feel best not going to the grocery store and having someone else shop for you, it’s certainly worth it!
Do you use Instacart? Want to give it a try? The links I’ve embedded in this post will get you $10 off your first order or use the code BBF063F1F3
Britt, I love this post. I recently started as a Shopper with Instacart for extra cash and like you I am one of those crazy people who enjoys the grocery store. I frequently deliver to moms with children at home and the elderly but as a working professional it is sooo convenient!
From a shoppers perspective it is so nice when customers are available in chat during a shop to get preferences on swapping out items that are not available (which happens 99% of the time). Saves the shopper time and bad rating and customers can get the personalized experience of being in the store and get a product they like. Don’t forget to rate (you get assigned batches based on your ratings- better rating, better batches) and tip your shoppers!