Delivering for California Shoppers: The Impact of Proposition 22

Last November, 59 percent of Californians voted to support Proposition 22, ushering in new offerings and protections for app-based workers. The passing of Proposition 22 unlocked a better, more progressive solution for all Californians that reflects the preferences of app-based workers.

Over the following months, we introduced new features and offerings for California shoppers, including guaranteed minimum earnings, a healthcare subsidy, and new trainings and protections.

Since the introduction of these new offerings, we’ve been analyzing our data to measure the positive impact these updates have had on the California shopper community. Today, we’re sharing those findings in a new report that outlines what this new model has provided for the 130,000 shoppers who have shopped in California since these changes went into effect.

Guaranteed Minimum Earnings

Instacart introduced a new guaranteed minimum earnings feature that guarantees 120 percent of local minimum wage for each hour spent shopping and delivering, plus 30 cents per mile driven each week.

After introducing this new earnings structure, shopper pay has increased by more than 30 percent, and shopper satisfaction in California — as measured by Net Promoter Score (NPS) — is at an all-time high.

“I already appreciated being an Instacart shopper before the California updates, but now it has become an even better deal. My standard of living has increased, and that translates to more choices in my daily life. Whether it comes in 120 percent of minimum wage, mileage compensation, or healthcare subsidy, it all translates to more income, which then offers me more choices in life.” — Jimmy L, Los Angeles County

Healthcare Subsidy

With the passing of Proposition 22, Instacart is now able to offer eligible California shoppers a healthcare subsidy to make health insurance even more affordable. This healthcare subsidy is available on a quarterly basis for shoppers who average more than 15 hours per week on the platform. We began offering the healthcare subsidy based on shoppers’ average hours shopped in Q4 of 2020.

Twelve percent of California shoppers were eligible for the healthcare subsidy, meaning they had shopped more than 15 hours per week on average in Q4 of 2020.

Of these eligible shoppers, 25 percent requested and received the subsidy.

In total, Instacart paid over $2.2 million in healthcare subsidies for Q4 of 2020.

“I love that Instacart is helping me save money by lowering health costs. The cost is so affordable and I’m getting better coverage for less cost than I did at my regular employer when I worked full-time. Not only that but being able to support my community in a global pandemic has been the most rewarding experience I think I’ve ever had. Instacart has given me a chance to be there for my community and do my part.” — Oliver S, San Francisco Bay Area

Trainings & Protections

Instacart also introduced new policies and resources to ensure the safety and care of everyone in the Instacart community, including updates to our sexual harassment and anti-discrimination policies, and three new mandatory safety trainings for all shoppers in California.

As of March 2021, more than 110,000 California shoppers had completed their trainings.

To read more about the results of this rollout and the positive impact on shoppers in California, download our full report, Delivering for California Shoppers: The Impact of Proposition 22.

We are proud of this progress and look forward to continuing to provide flexible earnings opportunities for shoppers, while further serving families and communities across California.

Thank you to the entire California shopper community for your continued dedication to providing a great service for customers. We appreciate each one of you for your efforts.

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.