Instacart is one of America’s fastest growing companies. The company is easily America’s largest grocery and other essentials delivery company.
The company is present in all the 50 states which make up the United States, and also present in Canada.
With over 40,000 stores scattered across both countries, Instacart is the largest grocery delivery company in North America
Is Instacart A Good Full-Time Job?
Yes, Instacart is a great place to work. With an average rating of 3.4, it places it amongst the best companies to work for in America.
In addition to that, the company also enjoys over 60% rating. 83% of Instacart employees also feel like it is a great place to work, as against 57% in an average American company.
Currently, Instacart employs over 10,000 workers, which are mainly of two categories. These workers are either full service workers or in-store workers.
Ready To Be An Instacart Shopper? CLICK HERE to get started!
Full Service Workers
Instacart’s full service workers are the category of workers who carry out the entire delivery process. They are the category of Instacart shoppers known and sometimes referred to as an “Instacart driver.”
The full service worker shops himself at the grocery store, and delivers them himself to the customer at his home or whatever location he prefers.
Instacart sometimes refers to this category of workers as independent contractors, this is due to the fact that they can choose to work at any time they like. They are ordinary instacart employees who do deliveries on Instacart as a side gig, to make extra income besides their normal jobs.
Full service workers are usually paid based on the number of deliveries they complete per week, inclusive of the tips they receive from the customers after such deliveries have been completed.
They are also not entitled to full-time employee benefits, which include paid leaves, health insurance, among other benefits that are readily available to full time employees.
Read: Why Did Instacart Put Me On A Waitlist?
In-Store Workers
In-store workers, on the other hand, are more than just ordinary Instacart employees. They are the category of workers whose job is to stay in a particular store and pack together a customer’s order whenever they come in.
An In-store worker’s job is way simpler than that of a full service shopper because they do not have to do deliveries themselves. Their job description ends when they pack a customer’s grocery delivery request when it comes in.
Then after packing it, they simply need to drop it off at a designated pick up spot for delivery.
Being an in-store shopper comes with its own peculiar benefits. Besides being able to schedule your own work hours, you also become eligible for paid time off. There is also a guarantee of constant work.
The average per hour rate of an In-store shopper is about $15 per hour, which may rise up to about $20 per hour depending on the location of the city.
Pros And Cons Of Working At Instacart
As you may expect, while Instacart might be a great company to work at, it is not without some minor inadequacies that its employees consider a disadvantage.
The advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of working at Instacart are discussed below:
Pros Of Working At Instacart
At Instacart, both full service shoppers and in-store shoppers have their own peculiar benefits.
However, as expected, the benefits accruing to an In-store shopper largely outweigh that of the full service workers.
This is largely due to the fact that the in-store workers are the real Instacart employees, and thus eligible to enjoy the same benefits that are enjoyed by workers at other large American firms.
The benefits enjoyed by Instacart’s in-store workers include
- Health and wellness benefits: Instacart offers adequate health care benefits for its workers. These include Healthcare insurance, dental insurance, vision, and mental health insurance amongst others.
Workers are also entitled to paid sick leaves, also paid paternity, and maternity leaves, as the company strives hard to support parents working within the company.
- Substantial retirement/401(k) plan: 401(k) is an employer sponsored personal pension account that gives employees tax breaks on the money they contribute towards their pension. These contributions are automatically removed from employee paychecks, and invested towards their retirement.
Basically, it’s a retirement plan accruing to a person who has spent a lot of years working at Instacart and wishes to retire.
Such a person will be eligible to receive pension which he had saved over the course of their employment at the company.
- Employees at Instacart are also entitled to other workplace benefits which include; free drinks/ food at work, a casual dress atmosphere, relaxed work environment, amongst others.
- For the full service workers, Instacart affords them a lot of leeway and flexibility, which includes being able to select which batches they would like to shop. There is also no limit to the number of batches they can make. Full service workers also get to decide their work period, i.e the number of hours they want to work on a particular day themselves.
- Also, since Instacart is available in over 5000 American cities, even if you decide to migrate to another city, you can still work at Instacart regardless of the city you are in. as long as instacart is present in the city, all you have to do is change your location, and you can then get to work!
Read: Can Instacart Shoppers Use Ibotta?
Cons Of Working At Instacart
A few disadvantages of working at Instacart include:
- Working at Instacart as a full service shopper is a gig job, there is no guarantee of constant work for the Instacart drivers. Shoppers have to wait until an order is made by a customer before they can work and get paid.
- Instacart’s drivers do not get compensated for the delivery expenses associated with each order. The full service shopper covers the shopping expenses himself, which includes; gas fees, vehicle insurance, vehicle maintenance, and taxes amongst others.
- Working at Instacart either as an in-store or a full service worker is also quite demanding. Workers are subjected to strenuous physical labor sometimes.
- Also, while this downside is not peculiar to Instacart alone, there is the inherent danger associated with package delivery gigs as a whole. An Instacart shopper is sometimes expected to drive into certain known dangerous neighborhoods to make a delivery, thus making them susceptible to bodily harms or other dangers.
How Much Can You Make Working At Instacart Full-Time?
Instacart pays its full service workers based on the number of deliveries made, and pays its in-store workers based on the number of hours worked.
The average per hour rate of an In-store shopper is about $15 per hour, which may rise up to about $20 per hour depending on the location of the city.
A full service worker, on the other hand, may make up to $15 per hour before tips are added, or up to $25 an hour before tips are added, depending on his location or your city.
Generally, both categories of workers can make between $800-$1000 dollars per week depending on the number of hours worked, and tips received from customers for deliveries made.
Read: How To Quit Instacart: Complete Step-By-Step Guide
Conclusion…
Instacart is easily one of the best delivery companies to work for in America, either as your main source of livelihood, or just as a means of earning some extra income other than your main job.
However, working at Instacart either as an In-store shopper or as a full service shopper is not without its advantages and disadvantages, while both are highly profitable, you are advised to carry out further research to determine which is best for you and which fits perfectly into your schedule
If you are using Instacart as a means of earning a side income, while also having your main income, you may want to consider scheduling your Instacart gigs for a period closer to the evening or at night.
There is no particular period in the day that more orders are being made, as there are always orders to fill 24/7. All you need to do is log into your Instacart app at any time you feel like working, then select an order that suits you, and fill it up.
In conclusion, whether Instacart is your full time job or a part time gig, customer satisfaction should always be your priority in order to receive good ratings from customers.
Poor service delivery will only attract poor ratings which may affect you as a shopper in the long run.
Ready To Be An Instacart Shopper? CLICK HERE to get started!