First and foremost, if you are a little confused by the terminology here, an Instacart shopper is simply a delivery person who is sent a list (made by the client) and picks up the items from a store. Obviously, what’s in stock will differ from what might be shown online, so the “shoppers” are often left to make judgment calls on replacements.
So while the idea of a “personal shopper” might sound luxurious, the reality, as shown in the TikTok clip above, is that you might end up getting what is more akin to a mystery box than your grocery list. And for some reason, male Instacart shoppers are notorious for making truly bizarre calls when some item isn’t available.
If some of these examples don’t seem too horrible, just imagine how badly it might go if we introduce alcohol to the mix. In 27 states, as well as Washington D.C. and parts of Canada, Instacart users can order alcohol through the service. Given the leeway that the shoppers seem to have, one can see a simple, game night order of a few beers turning into a bottle of Tequila.
Of course, Instacart isn’t exactly known for treating its workers particularly well, so perhaps they don’t really have any incentive to try too hard. In 2017, Instacart shoppers protested, alleging that on some days, their effective wage would be around $1 an hour. One doesn’t exactly have to be an economist to understand that this is not even on the same continent as a livable wage.
The company has also withheld tips, which it blamed on a software bug, and charged customers unexpected and unexplained service fees. So if you were paid below minimum wage and a company stole your tip, would you truly really take your time to find the perfect replacement for a kiwi, or would you grab another sour fruit and move on with your life?
While many of us really started using delivery services during COVID-19 lockdowns, Instacart was already going strong (as far as corporate profits were concerned) well before that. Covid did push the company to hire around 300,000 more workers, as people, naturally, needed groceries, and often didn’t want to go out to get them.
These days, Instacart does allow users to “book” grocery lists up to five days in advance, which, in theory, should help avoid cases where the shopper is making last-minute substitutions that throw an entire recipe out of whack. For example, cooking a risotto without the right kind of rice is a fool's errand.
Personal shoppers of the past would often be employed by the store itself, which would most likely help when it comes to knowing what items are missing or not available. In fact, some boutique stores or more expensive locations won’t even charge you for a personal shopper, as you are already spending money at their establishment.