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Instacart fine-tunes personal shopper ratings system

Changes bring new average rating for batch prioritization, more ratings forgiveness

Russell Redman

May 24, 2022

3 Min Read
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Instacart fields more than 600,000 personal shoppers, who pick, pack and deliver online grocery and other retail orders.Instacart

Instacart has unveiled a new customer ratings system for its personal shoppers that the company describes as providing a “more helpful, informative and fair experience” for its delivery workforce.

San Francisco-based Instacart said Tuesday that instead of order batches being prioritized according to the highest rating possible, personal shoppers now must uphold a 4.7 average rating or above for batch prioritization. The online delivery giant also noted that it now will forgive more ratings for “reasons that may be outside of a shopper’s control,” such as when certain customers consistently rate shoppers below 5 stars.

Overall, Instacart fields more than 600,000 personal shoppers, who pick, pack and deliver online grocery and other retail orders.

Instacart new shopper ratings system-app screens-May2022.jpg

A new 'Your Stats' screen that shows information about a personal shopper’s experience on the platform, including average customer rating, customer feedback and statistics such as the number of orders completed.

“Our reimagined ratings system was developed in close collaboration with the shopper community to better support their needs,” John Adams, vice president of shopper and fulfillment product at Instacart, said in a statement. “It’s incredibly important to us to nurture a community built on best intent — deepening the trust between shoppers, customers and all of us at Instacart.”

Under the new system, Instacart is introducing a “Your Stats” screen that shows information about a shopper’s experience on the platform, including their average customer rating, customer feedback and statistics such as the number of orders completed. A new section in the Shopper app also displays information about a shopper’s batch accuracy, including details about items found and replacements. Instacart noted that a shopper’s accuracy information doesn’t impact on their rating or access to batches.

Related:Instacart takes step toward IPO

Personal shoppers also will now see text in the app alerting them to when they are close enough to a store location to see available batches, Instacart said, adding that location is the chief factor in a shopper’s access to batches. When a shopper enters a store’s designated vicinity, text will appear in the app to notify them that they’re ideally situated and if they can expect to see batches from that retail location in the near future, the company explained. The app also may show other recommended store locations nearby with higher batch availability, in case they would prefer to move to another close-by store.

Instacart, too, said it now will solicit batch-level feedback after each batch shoppers complete. For example, shoppers can share if they had an issue with a customer and would no longer like to be paired with them moving forward. And if shoppers report rude customers, they will have the option to block those customers from their list of batches going forward, the company noted.

Related:Instacart takes aim at ‘tip baiting’

“By delivering on shopper feedback to make the customer ratings system even more fair, accurate, and reliable, we’re taking another step in ensuring that shoppers feel heard and supported through their experience,” Adams added.

Instacart partners with more than 750 national, regional and local retailers in North America and provides online shopping, delivery and pickup from more than 70,000 stores in over 5,500 cities. The company’s services reach more than 85% of U.S. households and about 90% of Canadian households.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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