Our Commitment to Shoppers: Recognition and Rewards for the Best of the Bunch

We’re rolling out a suite of new product features each month to further our commitment to shoppers and share more about how we’re building an even better shopper experience. This month, we’re sharing more about recognition and rewards for the best of the bunch.

We know that being a shopper takes care, commitment, and effort. At Instacart, we recognize hard work and reward the strongest shoppers with impactful incentives that help you stand out to your customers, improve your access to earnings, and reach your personal goals.

Introducing Cart Star, our new shopper rewards program

Shoppers are ​​an important part of the Instacart community, helping us invite the world to share love through food. Instacart shoppers balance empathy and efficiency with communication and problem-solving. With every carefully considered substitution, expiration date examined, and order delivered, you master our platform and delight your customers. 

That’s why today, we’re thrilled to unveil our new shopper rewards program, inviting shoppers to become a Cart Star and get recognized for your work on the platform. The Cart Star program will offer unique incentives — both through our third-party partners as well as directly within our platform — to help shoppers get rewarded and meet your goals. Whether a Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Cart, every shopper in the Cart Star program will receive tailored rewards and offerings.

To qualify for the Cart Star program, shoppers will earn points based on the number of orders you shop within a three-month period. Gold Cart shoppers are those who have 200 points, Platinum Cart will have earned 1,000 points, and Diamond Cart will have earned 2,000 points within the same three-month period. Shoppers must also maintain a 4.7 average customer rating to have access to the program.

Gold Cart: Savings for shoppers’ everyday needs

Gold Cart shoppers will have access to everyday savings to help with business expenses and other important costs.Through our partnership with Upside, Gold Cart shoppers will earn up to 29 cents per gallon cash back at thousands of participating gas stations nationwide. Through our partnership with CarAdvise, Gold Cart shoppers can also access an extra 25% off an oil change, along with discounts on other important automobile maintenance.

Platinum Cart: Boosted rewards and more recognition

Platinum Cart shoppers get boosted savings compared to Gold Cart, earning up to 33 cents per gallon cash back through Upside and an extra 50% off an oil change through our partnership with CarAdvise. 

In addition, Platinum Cart shoppers will receive enhanced recognition directly in the customer app, notifying customers that they are a Platinum Cart shopper, a top shopper on our platform. Customers will be able to see when a shopper has Platinum Cart status, along with helpful information like the number of orders shopped and how long the shopper has been on the platform, so they can get to know their shopper better. In testing, customers who saw a top shopper badge on their shopper’s profile were more likely to leave a higher rating and higher tip for their shopper.

Diamond Cart: Impactful incentives and priority access

Diamond Cart shoppers are those who are highly dedicated and engaged on the Instacart platform, delivering quality service for their customers every day. In recognition of their status, Diamond Cart shoppers will receive priority batch access on the platform and Backup Care when they need it, in addition to all of the rewards that are available for Gold and Platinum Cart shoppers. 

Diamond Cart shoppers who are within close range of a store’s location, as shown by a highlighted area in the Shopper app, will get priority access to batches. In addition, Diamond Cart shoppers will get exclusive early access to batches, with the ability to accept batches before stores open.

We also know that shoppers on our platform often have important responsibilities outside of shopping that may require them to spend time caregiving and tending to others in their family. To support shoppers in this case, we’re offering Diamond Cart shoppers two days of Backup Care per quarter, in partnership with Care.com. 

For the cost of $1 per hour or $10 per day, a Diamond Cart shopper can reach out to Care.com to access a full day’s worth of Backup Care for a child, senior, or even pet who may need assistance, if their care plans fall through. We know that everyone needs some added care sometimes — and we want shoppers to feel the same level of care and commitment from us at Instacart as they bring to their communities every day.

This is the fourth and final in Instacart’s multi-month rollout of new commitments to the shopper community, following support while you shop and beyond in March, ingredients to earn on your terms in April, and a community built on best intent in May. We look forward to continuing to build upon these commitments and implement your feedback to deliver an even better app experience for you in the future.

You can stay up to date on the Cart Star program on the Instacart website.

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.