Try Letting Your Instacart Shopper Grab A Drink Or Snack While Shopping For You

Getting your groceries delivered is kind of the best thing ever right now as most people are trying to stay home during COVID-19. But while you wait at home for your drop-off, your shopper is braving the store aisles for you. Many people are sending Instacart shoppers a snack or beverage on their shopping trip to show them some extra gratitude (in addition to a tip). Here’s how you can do the same, and make the most of grocery delivery services during stay-at-home orders.

An Instacart representative tells Romper that customers can add items to their order up until the point their shopper begins shopping, and you can add to your order by using the in-app messaging tool and requesting a new item. If a customer wishes to add an item specifically for the shopper, they are welcome to do so, as long as it’s added to their order or requested via messaging in the app. So, basically, just message your shopper that you want them to pick up a drink and snack for themselves and to tell you what they like so you can add those specific items to your order.

The Instacart representative adds that tipping is still the easiest way to show extra appreciation for your shopper’s help, and that 100% of your tip goes directly to that person. The company has also heard of customers leaving thank you notes, snacks, or other small gifts by the front door for their shoppers to take with them after dropping off groceries.

If you’re looking for other ways to make the most of your Shipt, Instacart, or other grocery delivery service during the pandemic, Instacart has a few hot tips:

• Schedule a morning delivery for the best results. During COVID-19, many stores are constantly restocking shelves, but especially so at night during off-hours. This means that if you need to buy in-demand things like toilet paper, flour, or yeast, place your grocery order the night before for one of the first available delivery windows the next morning. Your shopper will be more likely to have access to well-stocked shelves and not have to send you the dreaded “they’re out” message.
• Send groceries to a loved one. Instacart lets you send groceries to friends or family members, even if they’re across the country. It’s easy to give the gift of groceries to someone else — simply input their zip code, choose their local store, fill up your cart with the items they need, place and pay for their order to be delivered to their home.
• Use their how-to videos to teach your family how to use the service. Trying to convince Grandma and Grandpa to stop visiting the store and start getting their milk and eggs delivered? If explaining the app over the phone isn’t going well, try sending them these videos to show them how the app works and get them started.
• Use a group cart. Instacart’s group carts let you invite a family member or friend to your cart and ship the items directly to the preferred address. This means you can help a relative in another state add all the items they need to the cart and handle the whole the checkout and delivery process for them. It’s a great way to help someone with their grocery order, no matter how far away they are. You can create a new group cart by clicking “My Carts” in the upper right corner of your Instacart account, then tapping “My Carts,” and finally selecting “Create a group cart.”