- Instacart has cut the base pay of its shoppers and many are now looking for new jobs.
- Customers say that the most expensive orders are not worth it.
- Orders of hundreds of items and delivery addresses more than 50 miles apart are now common.
Many Instacart shoppers focus on shopping and delivering the highest-earning orders — think weekly grocery runs for big families or a stock-up trip to Costco.
The highest-paying orders, however, require either hundreds of items to be purchased or a drive over an hour for delivery. The change is especially pronounced, shoppers say, in the wake of Instacart’s decision to Reduced base payOrders are now $4 instead of the previous $7 minimum.
Instacart has said that there are still orders where shoppers can claim higher payouts, such as $10 or more. a blog postThe pay cut was announced last month. The post stated that “Instacart could pay more for orders based on their size and complexity.”
Some shoppers, however, say that the word “complexity” is a very high standard. Insider was told by a Virginian shopper that she passed up an order worth $36. It would have involved buying a handful of items at a Food Lion grocery store, then driving them 72 miles to the customer — a trek that the shopper estimated would’ve taken her at least an hour and a half.
The worker said that one of the orders included ice cream. Insider reported that the shopper stated, “After an hour and half drive, this ice-cream would have been milk.” The customer would have definitely given the shopper one star.
Instacart Tell InsiderOn Monday, Instacart announced that customers can choose which orders they want to purchase and that the payment is based on how complex each order is. Daniel Danker said that Instacart wanted to ensure the earnings of shoppers reflected the work required to complete each order.
Instacart customers have shared screenshots from orders they received in the past week. The tasks are similar: In Georgia, a $11.50 order required 84 items to be purchased at a Kroger, and then delivered to the customer, 11 miles away. A nearly $48 order outside of St. Louis asked shoppers to select 73 items from an Aldi and then drive them 69 miles into Illinois.
Instacart drivers earn low mileage but high payback
Reddit is a great place to find out what’s going on.One shopper in Iowa shared an order for 197 items, a 55-mile trip and a 55 item grocery list. What was the pay? About $35 — less than the 65.5 cents per mile that the IRS allows taxpayers to deduct as a business expense.
The poster stated, “I have nothing to say.”
Instacart users have maximized their earnings in the past by ordering high-paying items. One Utah shopper InsiderEarlier this year she told us that, early on in the pandemic, she had been able to earn $200 every Sunday by shopping for and delivering only a few Costco orders. The shopper reported that such orders, which can earn a lot of money, have become rarer and more competitive.
Instacart shoppers are complaining about the lower pay. Looking for traditional jobs or considering working for other services such as DoorDash.
Do you have a story to tell about your Instacart shopping experience? Contact this reporter via abitter@insider.com, or through the encrypted messaging app Signal (808-854-4501).
