Instacart Shopper: Earn money

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Last verified 30 Aug 2026

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Last verified 30 Aug 2026

4.8 1624001 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Deactivated due to alcohol and a flat tire

   I’ve been an Instacart shopper for a little over 3 years now with few issues. I absolutely adore doing the work and maintain a 4.5 customer rating. Recently (a few weeks ago) on an order I lost my drivers license and had to replace it. Due to not having my physical license I had to cancel order that contained alcohol as there is no way to see if the order contains alcohol until you accept (especially with larger orders). The store will not accept paper copy or just customers birthdate, I know because I tried. This had my cancellation rate high, when I reached out to customer service about it I was told they would look into and and had not heard anything back. On my last order I ran over something in the road and ended up with 2 flat tires, when I reached out to customer service he said it would count against me which I didn’t understand why as I cannot control getting a flat. My account was immediately deactivated and when I reached out to customer service via email they wouldn’t reactivate. My car is still sitting in front of the first customers address, by the grace of god she has been very understanding offer to help me replace my tires. I have been writing to there appeals department for over a week now and have not heard back at all. Not having an active customer service line is becoming a problem. Please reach back out to me, I am a great shopper and love what I do, I’ve never had an issue like this so there has to be a way to rectify.

   JarthVader1220 · 30 Aug 2026

2. 5/5Can’t see my ratings

   At first I wasn’t sure if there was a glitch on my app or people just didn’t do the ratings after I delivered. I have completed over a thousand orders and can’t seem to get passed 99 five stars. The only time it changes is when a random four star shows up with no explanation and the five star amount reduces. Also I have received several compliments from customers but I’m unable to see them. I have talked to other shoppers about this and they have showed me their ratings and some have been in the thousands. I’m also having issues with orders appearing for a fraction of a second then disappearing before I can react. Sitting at stores and waiting when the app says 15-30 minutes or even 5-15 minutes and no orders come up. I move to a different store only to get an order at a store that’s not even on the map. Also why does the pay reduce when a customer requests a refund on an item that isn’t available and the customer didn’t like any replacement options? Sometimes I spent entirely to much time waiting on customers to respond to messages and searching for items that aren’t there just to have my pay reduced. Even with these issues I’m still giving Instacart a five star review because for me there are more pros than cons. At least most days. Also I have never had any issues with shopper support. They have always been nice and helpful.

   Bigbob1867 · 30 Aug 2026

3. 3/5Room for Improvement

   Instacart is a great way to make money however it is not as great as it used to be, at least in my area. There are far too many shoppers and not enough batches. When there are batches, they pay little to none or they’re combing two stores so the pay/effort put in is not worth it. The promos are a joke at times as you can easily pass the bonus earning without even trying. For example, I’ve had a promo that was $48 for 6 batches. Well math will tell you that if most batches pay about $7, you’ve already basically hit the $48 or close to it without trying. If you don’t have a shopper card or are waiting for a new one, there are not many stores in my area that accept Apple Pay/mobile Pay. When shopping at stores like Kroger, there should be an option that informs you if the batch is an online pay or not BEFORE accepting. This would be helpful for those who don’t have their cards just yet. Also, I don’t think customers should be able to add items once the shopping starts. They’ve had plenty of time beforehand to do so. Shop only orders should just automatically use online pay and should at least have the option for tips. Stores that don’t have aisle numbers such as Sam’s or Costco should have more time added to shop. Also customer service needs a lot of training and revamping. With some reps I’ve had to ask the same question multiple times to MAYBE get the correct answer. Please read these reviews and work on improving your app for the people that spend time working.

   Juknow30 · 30 Aug 2026

4. 5/5Rating system

   Instacart is a great way to make independent money. I do it as a main source of income I have 3 kids and it works just fine for my life. I do have a problem with “support”. I was just threatened for expressing concerns so I decided to express here. A problem I have is the rating system. We have no control over disputes if not attached to a particular item. For some background I’m a diamond cart 5 star shopper and I give everyone the same level of respect. I’ve watched the lessons and have improved myself to this level of shopper and take what I do seriously. You can put your all into someone’s order and 1 item can be the difference between a 5 and 1 star. People are emotional and irrational especially while spending their hard earned money. We as shoppers get the bad end of that which is unfair. We go out of the way to communicate and suggest replacements which requires the actual customer service and that’s where problems are, people don’t respond or irresponsibly ask for a refund they didn’t want (this happens a lot to me). We need a voice as shoppers when it comes to defending ourselves and earning potential. We can’t dispute actual ratings. I think that would be extremely helpful to be able to at least look back and see why and learn from a mistake if one was rightly made. I give you a 1 star in hopes to gather the attention to fix this issue.

   pizzapops23 · 30 Aug 2026

5. 5/5Pros and cons

   Pros: descriptions and pictures make finding items super easy… I love that the print has been made a bit larger and bolder… Access to tips earlier is a big plus… Support is super fast and I a text away… I like that I received pet patches that are close to my location on a regular basis… I love having my Costco and Sam memberships available... Cons: no fun when you hired way too many shoppers I couldn’t get a batch to save my life as I went from 600 a week to 200… Why do I have to send a picture when I hand deliver the groceries it makes no sense… I wish there was a way customers could request their shopper as I get it multiple times daily my customers say I only want you shopping for me Kim but I explain to them that everybody should be at the Instacart standard that I am and they say Kim they are not but maybe in the future it could be possible… bugs me that 1/2 pound of lunch meat from the deli dictates the Publix… Fort Myers Beach/Estero Blvd., Publix has the lousiest selection and a lot of outdated products but if somebody orders a half a sub or half a pound of lunch meat I have to use up Publix sometimes for three different customers and I’m always having to substitute… I never really minded going to the deli because I went there firstAll in all I love working for Instacart… I’m a paramedic firefighter by trade but after I fractured my femur and was it ready to hit the ground with boots running yet this is proved to be good income to help me get my son through college... Thank you for the opportunity! Kim

   Lucky times5 · 30 Aug 2026

4.2 180952 ratings · Google Play

1. 1/5

   I'm tired of struggling to survive when this is my main income and I'm not making the money I used to make. I don't know what is going on with instacart. maybe you need to run more promotions but I feel very discriminated against because I've hardly made any money the last 2 months and I am falling behind in my bills because this company keeps adding new shoppers without thinking of the ones that are already out here doing the work.

   SparrowPanda · 31 Jul 2026

2. 2/5

   The app has a tendency to not allow for Shoppers to confirm the delivery. It has become harder to talk to a real human being about this issue.

   Kenya Walker · 31 Jul 2026

3. 5/5

   it's incentives are actually pretty awesome.

   Kim Romero · 31 Jul 2026

4. 1/5

   Pros: - can see distance from store to customer's house - multiple batches at a time - promotions to help you earn more Cons - item locations in store are often incorrect - shopper is penalized for empty shelves or missing products that are unavailable in the store - cannot take advantage of gold card status if above has tanked your score - support seems to know just as much as I do about the app

   Sonsarae Cobbs · 31 Jul 2026

5. 4/5

   I only changed my rating bc more than one time, the app sent me far out i.e. 30-45 mins away abd when I got there my order had been canceled and I didn't get compensation for either one! NOT FAIR INSTACART!

   Mistin · 31 Jul 2026

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