Instacart offers shoppers chance for extra earnings
Instacart is notifying delivery personnel of certain days that will feature a bump in compensation.
The online delivery platform is launching peak earning days, a feature providing them with information about certain days that will offer higher earnings opportunities in specific areas, so they can plan for the week ahead.
Every Thursday, the peak earning days chart in the Instacart shopper app will update to highlight which days in the coming week will pay more per batch, relative to other days that week. When shoppers (Instacart’s term for workers who fulfill online customer orders at partner brick-and-mortar stores) work on a peak earning day, that day’s percentage increase will apply to their base pay for your batch.
100% of tips earned by shoppers will still go directly to them, and will not be impacted by peak earnings. Shoppers can also change their location to see what peak earning days look like in nearby areas, allowing them to decide if they want to shop in other locations. The feature has begun rolling out and will expand further in the coming months.
“The launch of peak earning days furthers our commitment to giving shoppers the ingredients to earn on their terms,” said John Adams, VP of shopper & fulfillment product at Instacart. “When it comes to shopping with Instacart, we believe that information increases flexibility. The peak earning days feature equips shoppers with another tool to optimize their time and better their ability to earn. As we look to the future, we’re excited to continue rolling out features like peak earning days that help shoppers maximize their earning potential.”
Instacart develops new shopper support offerings
During 2022, Instacart has introduced a number of new benefits and perks for shoppers. In July, the company launched Cart Star, a new rewards program for its shoppers. Every qualifying shopper in the Cart Star program will receive tailored rewards and offerings through third-party partners, as well as directly within the Instacart platform.
The Cart Star program will offer incentives via three tiers: Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Cart. Platinum and Diamond Cart shoppers will receive recognition in the Instacart app, indicating to customers when their shopper has achieved this status, along with information like the number of orders shopped and how long the shopper has been on the platform.
In May, Instacart began requiring shoppers to maintain a 4.7 star-average rating or above for prioritization in fulfilling delivery batches. Previously, Instacart prioritized shoppers with the highest rating possible. The company also said it is forgiving more ratings for reasons that may be outside of a shopper's control, including if a customer consistently rates shoppers below five stars.
Shoppers will also now see text in the Instacart shopper app notifying them when they are close enough to a store location to see available batches. Other features Instacart has added for shoppers this year include new shopper app features and several upgrades to the customer tipping process.
Instacart partners with more than 800 national, regional, and local retail brands to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 70,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America.