store shopper

shop supervisor

delivery driver

Instacart Shoppers

I started out with this company as soon as they came into Canada - I was already working as a delivery contractor so this seemed like a great opportunity. 

Overall, the job itself is a lot of fun, since I enjoy grocery shopping, but the company and the app frustrate me beyond belief at times.

For example: you need to maintain a certain amount of hours to get what the call "Early Access Hours" meaning you pick your hours for the following week (not the current upcoming) on Sunday at 9am. Great - if you have full-time availability; if you're trying to balance multiple jobs and schedule according to familial commitments, good luck. If you don't average 30 hours per week (you have to work a total of 90 hours in 3 weeks) then you cannot pick your hours until Wednesday, by which point the pickings are slim. I live in Durham and want to work in Durham (this job involves enough driving without having to commute to other zones), but lately I am stuck desperately scraping together shifts downtown and in East or North York or Markham if I am lucky. Hours DO free up over the course of the week but that involves you obsessively looking at your phone every 20 minutes. How do you expect us to work full-time hours if there ARE NONE FROM WHICH TO PICK? I think 90 hours in three weeks is unreasonable, since like I said that's full-time work. You start out with Early Access so yes you could simply maintain it if this is indeed your only job, but that involves a whole lot of gas and/or waiting doing nothing sometimes.

The app - it is glitchy as all heck even though they are constantly updating it. In the updates they acknowledge bugs and claim they are fixed only for me to notices the same things happening, like shifts showing the wrong times or the acceptance screen bugging out or something. 
I often lose connectivity even when I have full service and store Wifi is usually garbage on the rare times I've needed to rely on that (ie. the Leslieville Loblaws).

Shopper support isn;t particularly helpful. They sometimes take a few days to respond to your ticket and sometimes don't even acknowledge your main issue. I've received almost arbitrary responses to questions I haven't asked.

Anyway, done rambling.

If you want to do this for fun, go for it, and it can be awesome if you've been laid off or recently out of school and are having a hard time finding good work, like I am. But be forewarned that if you need to rely on this heavily you MAY go nuts. Although if you're chill and patient, maybe not. haha

Hey everyone, I felt compelled to share my nightmarish experience working for Instacard, and trust me, it's a cautionary tale you need to hear. This company seems designed to exploit its shoppers, using their time, vehicles, and energy while undermining their efforts. Here's why I strongly advise against working for Instacard:

Underpaid and Overworked:

Instacard shamelessly underpays its shoppers for the time and effort they invest.
The workload is often overwhelming, leaving shoppers feeling exploited and undervalued.
Losing Money Instead of Earning:

Shockingly, there were instances where I ended up losing money out of my own pocket.
The reimbursement system is a mess, and it's not uncommon to be out-of-pocket after completing a job.
Exploitative Use of Employees:

Instacard seems to be built on the questionable practice of exploiting its employees, using them as mere tools to accomplish tasks.
Shoppers are treated as expendable, with no regard for their well-being or fair compensation.
Unethical Business Practices:

The company's business model appears to be rooted in deception and manipulation.
Shoppers are promised flexibility, but in reality, they are trapped in a system that only benefits the company, not the hardworking individuals on the ground.
No Job Security:

Job security is practically non-existent, as Instacard seems to care more about its bottom line than the welfare of its workers.
There's a constant fear of being let go without warning or explanation.
In conclusion, if you're considering working for Instacard, I strongly advise against it. This company operates on a foundation of deception and exploitation, leaving its employees underpaid, overworked, and frustrated. Save yourself the trouble and look for opportunities with companies that value their workers and treat them with the respect they deserve. Instacard is undoubtedly not one of them.

Working as a shopper for Instacart, I have found that the days can be rather slow, resulting in a limited opportunity to make money. There are times when there are simply not enough batches available to accept and complete, leaving me with little income to show for my efforts. This inconsistency in workload can be frustrating, especially for those who rely on this gig as a primary source of income.

One of the major challenges I've encountered is the constant influx of new shoppers joining the platform. While it's great that Instacart is expanding and attracting more workers, this influx also creates a significant increase in competition for available batches. With more shoppers vying for the same limited number of orders, it becomes increasingly difficult to secure a batch once it becomes available. This heightened competition often leads to a race to claim the batches, and if you're not quick enough, you're left empty-handed.

The oversaturation of shoppers can be demoralizing, as it diminishes the earning potential for each individual. Instead of being able to rely on a steady stream of orders, we have to face the uncertainty of whether we will be able to secure a batch at all. This situation makes it challenging to plan and allocate time effectively, as there is no guarantee of consistent earnings.

Overall, while Instacart provides flexibility in terms of working hours and the ability to earn money through grocery shopping, the slow days and excessive competition for batches have a negative impact on the earning potential. It would be beneficial if Instacart could address these issues by finding ways to balance the number of shoppers with the available orders, ensuring a fair distribution of opportunities and a more consistent income stream for its workers



Their claim in 740 a week is ludicrous!!i worked hard  and actually cared about my work and customer feedback... yet the company still screwed me when I went on vacation....i  had a 4.96 customer satisfaction rating out of 5 and almost always got a five star rating because i went above and beyond. This company has something called early access which gives you first choice and to choose hours. If you are not on it at the exact minute nothing left for you to get. ... I kept early access by working a minimum of 25 hours over a three week period. When i went on vacation for 2 weeks it wouldn’t let me block off the week even though the rep said it would be fine and all would be good. EVEN with early access you will MAX make 130 a day but that’s if you work a 12 hour day... you do the math. This company is a joke. Not only am I going to tell everybody I know that it is completely horrible and not worth it but they do not value people who actually care enough about the customers like myself. The time limits are completely unrealistic and the customer support staff is a joke. They were all outsourced and had no training.. so if you had an issue good luck finding anybody useful to help. For example one day my i accidentally   delivered when the delivery was not complete, and i called right away to ask them to give the address info and it literally took the rep 15 minutes to find the address; all the while the groceries were melting.  Do yourself a favour and don’t out yourself through this .... You will make less than minimum wage... oh and that’s on a good Day. This company will not survive as all the stores are getting personal shoppers now; and they will say well they deliver it that’s the difference... I guarantee in time this will be in place in most major supermarkets.

I thought this would be great to make a bit of cash while looking for permanent work however, it has been nothing but a joke. I applied in mid December of 2024 and it is now the middle of February 2025 and I have still been able to get shopping to earn. The background checks are painfully slow and I've done it twice. The first time they told me there was an error on the report I provided which makes no sense then they told me it was because my license class wasn't a full G which is hilarious since I've had it since around 1989...PS Class 5 and G are essentially the identical level of license just the province of issue is different. They keep telling me that the issue has been escalated and the team will get it fixed. Well I'm not sure who this team is but they apparently don't work very well together because the emails I've been promised don't ever come and the issue is still alive and well 2 months later.
The workplace culture is obviously driven by bots that repeatedly tell you they understand how frustrating this must be which is garbage. 
I would suggest that management doesn't really exist, I've learned that there's no point in persuing extra cash on this platform and the culture that has developed is purely dependant on digital systems. 
For a people oriented business they sure have zero customer service abilities and they don't care at all about customers (based on reviews) nor do they care about folks who are trying to survive (personal experience)
I highly do NOT recommend.

I was going to rate at 5 stars, but today I had unpleasant issue that I hadn't before. Usually my phone starts to beep when you have the order, but today Instacart send notification that I am out of zone and I have to drive to working zone location so I did. It took me half an hour to drive there and guess what? I had to seat in my car and wait for order to come for several hours! So I spend all my schedule in a car with NO orders! Now question: who is going to pay for my gas and parts for my car? Plus they didn't count half an hour that I was driving!!! In general there's more issues like: 
- hard to find the right product, especially if it is ethnic product that you never seen before, but probably with the time you will get it. 
- some app issues happens from time to time.
- sometimes you need to contact with help center urgently and there's no hot lines so you have to send a message and wait for couple days them to contact you back. So you going back and forth, back and forth...  
- you have to work on time. If you are facing with difficult client who is taking your time by texting you back and forth because they are changing their mind regarding their order you will run out of time and your rating at Instacart will be lower so next time you won't be able to get more hours and so on.

Shoppers were informed they would be reimbursed and given a bonus for alcohol training to deliver liquor orders. I paid $50, and spend a 3 hours to complete all the training. When I submitted my request for reimbursement I was informed that they no longer were paying for training. I escalated the issue and spoke to someone else who then informed me I would be reimbursed. 3 months later and no reimbursement. I just spoke to someone else who is now saying again I won’t be reimbursed and that the other team member was misinformed.

Overall contacting the support care team is a nightmare. There are always inconsistencies. They are hard to reach, you can’t call anyone they force you to chat message only. Sometimes you are at a store and need of technical support and have to wait forever to talk to someone. No one seems to know what is going on. I feel like I’m speaking to a dumbed down robot. 
I’ve been a shopper since 2019 and it has sadly gone down hill. Less pay. Support is terrible. They don’t seem to value their shoppers. Customers have the option to tip you nothing. A lot of other delivery platforms like skip the dishes does not give the customer the option tip nothing. Skip the dishes starts at 10%, as an example. And their drivers literally do nothing but drive. Instacart shoppers have to shop an entire grocery order sometimes busting their butt’s, checkout, bag the order and deliver it, sometimes to apartment building. Yet they allow their customers to tip nothing??? 



What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I sit in my car in a parking lot for roughly 8-10 hours waiting to pick up batches that are worth it. You'll get the batch pay that Instacart offers (usually just enough to cover the miles) and the tips the customer pays. Very tip dependent. Some areas are very heavy in shoppers so it's a lot harder to pick up batches.

What is management like?
No management. Just you and an app with access to customer support which is mostly people overseas who copy and paste response templates and don't understand a lot. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I can have my headphones in, work when I want to work, do the orders I want to do. It's paying my bills while I look for work.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Orders are timed and sometimes the allotted time doesn't give enough for what the order is. Instacart doesn't pay well at all (e.g., $12 CAD to shop 60+ items and then travel 10kms away), it's very heavily dependent on customer tips to make it worth it (where I am, they really do not like to tip). Unless you bring your own supplies (e.g., carts) having a bunch of cases of drinks at an apartment can exhausting. 
You're also not taxed, so very dependent on you to keep track of all your miles and expenses to claim on your taxes and will likely owe.

At Instacart you are a "independant contractor", meaning everything you make isn't taxed yet and so if you take that in account plus gas you generally end up making less than minimum wage depending on the day. It also puts a lot more wear & tear on your car.
 On the bright side, as a contractor you are your own boss; you can (in theory) work whenever you want, for however long you want. However, that must be taken with a grain of salt because at times there will be no jobs in your area depending on your location. You can also see what each job pays, how many items it will be and how long it should take before you accept them so you can wait for the "good" ones if you want to.
 Overall I wouldn't reccomend attempting to do this as a full time job to support a family or anyhthing, as most of the time the pay that is shown to you is nearly halfed by taxes and gas (at least in my experience). I would recommend it to someone who a) has a very reliable car that will not be expensive to service (i.e. older model civics or corollas), and b) already has a full-time job, or doesn't need to independently support a household.

While I definitely enjoyed doing Instacart in the few months I was between jobs, the pay can be incredibly low most of the time (below minimum wage + expenses of driving insane distances) and tips vary wildly. You get to pick your own hours or work on-demand, and the more active/higher rated you are, the earlier you get allowed into the schedule pick. Getting hours can be very competitive in some areas, so you might need to watch the schedule page like a hawk. I really did NOT like their penalty system...I was penalized when my car broke down once, even though I called them to explain there was nothing I could do and could not reasonably continue my shift. You could accumulate penalties for refusing the low pay/high distance batches or impossible orders (10 huge cases of pop/waterbottles don't fit in the average car), and eventually get prevented from picking hours. The bright side was that customers are generally super grateful and happy to have your help, lots of elderly customers and new moms, can be super rewarding that way.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Store shopper 1 salary reported	$220 per day
Shop supervisor 1 salary reported	$30.29 per hour
Delivery driver 1 salary reported	$23.89 per hour

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