Instacart is a delivery company that operates in the US and Canada providing same-day delivery and pick-up services for groceries, pharmacies, and some other essential products in these countries. The company is fast, reliable, and gained the trust of many Americans and Canadians as there is almost no grocery store that has not partnered with the company. You are also allowed to monitor the delivery process to ensure your orders are what you get.
How To Get An Order Delivered Through Instacart
The delivery process of Instacart is simple and begins the moment you make an order on the Instacart app. Here is how to make and get your order delivered on Instacart
Log in to your Instacart account (you should have downloaded the mobile app available on Playstore or Apple store)Ensure your home address and state zip code are correctly inputted (Instacart does not deliver to Quebec in Canada)Select your favorite store from the suggested stores close to you (you can also specify a category to make selection easy e. g grocery, alcohol, pharmacy, etc)Add the items you want to order to your cartCheck out the delivery period and fee for this period. For example, a store can charge $5 for delivery between 10 am and 12 pm and $10 for delivery between 8 pm and 10 pmProceed to checkout when you are done with the order and choose the delivery time (Ensure the time corresponds to the least charge although this depends on the urgency of the order)Select if you want a no-contact delivery (the package will be dropped at your doorstep)You should know that the no-contact delivery might not be available for some orders that need certified delivery proof like alcoholChoose a payment method and make payment for the order (available payment methods depend on the store you ordered from)Monitor the progress of your orders and communicate with the delivery man anytime you want to make a change
How Much Does Instacart Delivery Cost?
Instacart delivery fee is affordable and begins from as low as $3.99 with an additional fee of 5% of your total grocery cost. There is also a separate charge on orders that include alcoholic products; however, you can reduce the delivery cost through Instacart Express.
Instacart Express is a subscription service provided by Instacart to allow its customers to get free deliveries on orders above $35 through a monthly or annual subscription plan. The monthly plan costs $9.99 while the annual plan comes for $99 and minimizes the additional fee to 1.9% of your grocery cost.
Instacart Fast and Flexible And Order Ahead
Due to the increase in demand for delivery services by Instacart users, the company introduced two new services in 2020 named “Fast and Flexible and Order Ahead. The two services allow users to make delivery orders in advance of about 2 weeks (Order Ahead) or get an item pre-ordered delivered in 48 hours (Fast and Flexible).
These services ensure shoppers on Instacart can make orders even when all available delivery periods have been booked by other shoppers. During these periods, delivery services are expected to be closed by Instacart; however, Fast and Flexible and Order Ahead now allow them to be left open.
Can I Tip An Instacart Delivery Man?
Tipping is not compulsory on Instacart but is encouraged by the company. You can either tip your delivery man directly on the app or when your orders are delivered. The company fixes a 5% on your total amount as the tip on default but you can change this during checkout. The tip feature also allows you to fix a tip amount for every transaction so that you do not need to change it every time.
Why Use Instacart Delivery?
There are several advantages of using the Instacart delivery service and we will highlight a few below:
The company delivers everywhere in the US and Canada except in QuebecThe mobile app has many features that make ordering and delivering easyGood Customer ServiceThe delivery fee is cheap and even cheaper with Instacart ExpressIt partners with almost all available grocery stores in the US and Canada
Conclusion
Instacart delivery is one of the best in the US and Canada and allows you to get your groceries and other eligible products when needed. The company gives its customers the freedom to control the delivery process and to delay deliveries if the need arises.
It is rare to have issues with Instacart delivery service but you can always contact their customer service to help you during such periods.
How fast is Instacart Delivery?
Instacart can deliver as fast as 15 minutes in some areas in the US. Normally, an order should be delivered in a maximum of 2 hours.
