Tips for Using Instacart During This Busy and Uncertain Time

Over the past few weeks, millions of households across North America have relied on Instacart to deliver their groceries and household goods during this busy and uncertain time. We’re proud to provide an essential service for people and our teams are working around the clock to safely serve all members of the Instacart community.

We recognize that many customers may be new to Instacart, and even those who are longtime customers may be using it in new and different ways. To that end, we’re sharing tips for using Instacart to best meet your — and your loved ones’ — needs:

1. Check delivery times frequently. Due to heightened customer demand, available delivery windows may fluctuate throughout the day. Our teams are working around the clock to ensure availability, and we encourage customers to check available delivery times frequently in the app.

2. Choose preferred replacements. During this busy time, retailers are experiencing elevated demand for certain items. Help your shopper get what you need by pre-selecting replacement options for everything on your list. While your shopper is preparing for your order, be ready to respond to questions she or he may have about replacement options by using our in-app chat functionality.

3. Choose Leave at My Door Delivery. In the spirit of social distancing, you may prefer to reduce contact with people outside your household. Choose the “Leave at My Door Delivery” option when you check out in the app and your shopper will notify you when he or she has delivered your groceries to your front door.

4. Plan ahead. Take frequent inventory of your fresh foods, pantry staples and household essentials, and place your orders a few days in advance of running out of key essentials.

5. Send groceries anywhere. As an Instacart customer, you can send groceries to friends or family members, even if they’re across the country. It’s easy to give the gift of groceries to someone else — simply input their zip code, choose their local store, fill up your cart with the items they need, place and pay for their order to be delivered to their home. You can even track replacements, chat with their shopper directly from the store, and help notify them when their groceries have arrived. If you think your recipient would prefer to manage their own order, you can also send them a virtual Instacart gift card here.

6. Use a group cart. With Instacart’s group carts, you can invite a friend or loved one to join your cart, work together to add the items they need, and ship them directly to their preferred address. Families in the same household can make sure everyone orders the items they want, or you can help a relative in another state add all the items they need and navigate the checkout and delivery process for them. It’s a great way to help someone with their grocery order, no matter how far away they are. You can create a new group cart by clicking the green cart icon in the upper right corner of the app → “My Carts” → “Create a group cart.”

7. Say thank you to your shopper. Over the last few weeks, the Instacart shopper community has served as household heroes for families across North America. When you order, please consider tipping above and beyond to reflect the extra effort of your shopper.

The Instacart team is committed to serving its customer and shopper community safely and effectively, and on behalf of our entire team, we want to thank you for being a valued member of the Instacart community.

— The Instacart Team

Instacart

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.