Instacart is one of the leading platforms for ordering food and groceries online. Thanks to its vast network of stores and 24/7 shopping and delivery services, it has been the go-to store for most shoppers online. But there’s something even more special about Instacart.
Instacart doesn’t just offer 24/7 shopping but also gives its shoppers an easy side hustle. With Instacart, it’s easy to make money from shopping and delivering groceries for other shoppers like you.
As usual, the first question that comes to mind when talking about a side gig is “how much can you make on the job?” Here’s the best part; your earning is dependent on how much shopping you carry out for others.
So it’s possible to make as much as $200 a day just by shopping on Instacart, and this usually doesn’t even cover tips.
How Can You Make Money With Instacart?
Before you rush into the money making part, here’s a brief story on how Instacart works. In a time when the world was in lockdown and it was highly difficult going out to get much needed groceries, Instacart came to the rescue.
The idea of shopping without going to the store and even having your orders delivered to your doorstep without any extra contact became the perfect solution for the lockdown season.
Seeing as Instacart is primarily an online platform for buying groceries, Instacart partners with a lot of local stores that handle shopping orders and deliveries.
Basically, when you shop on Instacart, you’re browsing through discounts and special offers on groceries from local stores in partnership with Instacart.
It is these local stores where you order from – through Instacart, that’ll process and deliver your order.
If you’re trying to make money with Instacart, what you’re going to do is to simply sign up as an Instacart shopper.
What Do You Do As An Instacart Shopper?
You basically receive shopping orders, handle the shopping from any Instacart local store and deliver the food or groceries directly to the homes of customers.
So, you make money by shopping and delivering groceries to Instacart customers.
As an Instacart shopper, you receive your shopping orders directly from the app, and you can sign up either as a Full Service Instacart shopper, or an In-store shopper.
What Is A Full Service Instacart Shopper?
A full service Instacart shopper basically is an independent contractor or shopper that shops and delivers groceries based on a personalized shopping schedule. Basically, you determine your working hours – work as an Instacart shopper whenever you want.
Generally, you can only operate as a full service Instacart shopper wherever Instacart operates, and the more orders or batches you complete, the more you earn.
As a full service Instacart shopper, you should have a car, motorcycle or any means of ensuring that you deliver the groceries ordered to the doorstep of the recipient customer.
If you’re keen on traveling or generally driving and moving around, then being a full service shopper for Instacart would be perfect for you.
Ready To Be An Instacart Shopper? CLICK HERE to get started!
What’s An In-Store Shopper?
You’re a part-time employee with Instacart and you’re only required to shop for groceries – you don’t need to handle deliveries. You only need to receive orders on the Instacart app, shop and bag the groceries for delivery or pickup by the local store you work in.
You could also package orders for your customers to pick up just outside on the curb of your local store.
Seeing as some customers might not have the time to go all the way into the store and start shopping, you’ll take care of their shopping and just step out of the store and give it to them while they drive by.
As an in-store shopper with Instacart, you’re to work between 15 to 20 hours per week – and this includes working on Sundays too. Although you can set your working hours or days per week, it has to meet the quota of 15 to 20 hours per week.
Earning as an in-store shopper is done per hour. So, if you wish to earn more money as an Instacart in-store shopper, you can extend your working hours too.
Your role as an in-store shopper can last for as long as 3 months – it all depends on you.
Read: Can Instacart Shoppers Use Ibotta?
How Much Does Instacart Pay Shoppers?
Seeing as there are two categories of shoppers with different work requirements, there’s no doubt that the payments would differ.
For full service shoppers who literally shop, bag and deliver groceries, their pay is determined by how many orders or batches they fulfill.
What’s more is that full service shoppers tend to enjoy more tips from deliveries to customers compared to in-store shoppers who may not meet in person with customers such that they can receive tips.
However, in-store shoppers earn per hour and the amount of orders they shop for also determines their earning.
Instacart payment for both categories of shoppers also varies based on the city and region where they operate.
Generally though, Instacart pays all its shoppers above minimum wage. Hence, if you’re in a region with a high minimum wage, there’s a likelihood that you’ll be earning higher than other shoppers outside your region.
Payment for full service shoppers ranges between $7 to $10 at least for every fulfilled order, and at least $5 for delivery-only orders.
Tips are usually not included in the minimum payment – it’s up to customers to tip you as generously as they please, and you’re free to keep 100% of the tips earned.
Customers are usually encouraged to tip Instacart shoppers, and the size of the tip is usually determined by the size of the order.
Basically, the size of an order is also factored into the tip recommendation to customers, so if you take care of big sized orders, then you’re guaranteed to receive massive tips that can accumulate into $200 alongside your normal earnings per order fulfilled.
What’s more is that you can also earn $3 as an Instacart bonus for being one of the best shoppers.
For in-store shoppers, payment is usually done per hour, and the least you can earn is $13 per hour.
Keep in mind that you only work when you want – at least 15 – 20 hours per week, and you only need to shop and package orders for delivery. So if you work 20 hours per week, then you’ll earn at least $260 per week.
Read: Why Did Instacart Charge Me More?
How To Make $200 A Day With Instacart
Making $200 a day with Instacart is pretty easy especially if you have the right strategy and dedication. Generally, the amount of orders you fulfill greatly determines how much you earn.
So if you’re a full service shopper who earns at least $10 for every order you fulfill, then your target is fulfilling 20 orders per day.
Here’s something to consider: you accept orders directly from the Instacart app, and there’s no clear limit to how many orders you can accept. So, taking on multiple orders is a great way to increase your earning.
You can take on orders within the same delivery route so you can deliver more orders at the same time and earn on each order. Be careful though, you should always avoid errors or mixing up orders.
As an in-store shopper who earns at least $13 per hour, working 16 hours per day might appear as the most direct way to earn $200 per day. But this is pretty much impossible.
The whole idea of a side hustle is that you can work at your convenience, which means that you’re free to tend to other responsibilities in your day. Working 16 hours in a day just to make $200 is nearly impossible.
So what can you do? Your best bet for earning $200 a day as an in-store shopper is to work more hours and handle big sized orders.
Usually, Instacart factors the size of an order when determining your pay. So if you handle big sized orders, you have a chance of earning more per hour.
Read: What Time Does Instacart Open?
Conclusion…
Earning $200 per day with Instacart is possible, but you just need the right strategy and dedication to work it out.
Instacart has provided two categories of earning, and it’s up to you to pick the one that best fits into your schedule.
While being an in-store shopper comes with lesser responsibilities, being a full service shopper comes with potentially more pay.
The beauty about Instacart is that you can decide to change your earning category whenever you’re ready. Basically, you can switch from being an in-store shopper to a full service shopper.
You’ll only need to put in a request to reset your signup details with Instacart, and then you’ll be given the opportunity of starting your signup afresh in a different role either as a full service shopper or as an in-store shopper.
Your best bet for making $200 a day with Instacart is to fulfill more orders as accurately as possible. Failure to fulfill orders accurately and on time could result in poor rating, and this can greatly affect your chances of earning higher.
Read: Is Instacart A Good Full-Time Job?
Ready To Be An Instacart Shopper? CLICK HERE to get started!