Instacart launches 'queued batches,' 'multi-store add-ons'

Instacart is moving to make its shopping and delivery services more appealing to its shoppers: the independent contractors who deliver groceries.

The San Francisco-based operator is now enabling those shoppers to accept another shopping batch before completing their current order.

In addition, shoppers will be able to add separate customer orders from nearby retailers in addition to the order they are currently fulfilling.

“Our goal is to create a platform that is as flexible as shoppers need it to be,” John Adams, Instacart vice president of shopper and fulfillment product, said in a statement. “It’s our priority to help shoppers make the most of their time on the Instacart platform, which is why we’re introducing these new features that increase the amount of time that shoppers can spend earning.”

With queued batches, Instacart shoppers, after delivering their current batch, will be able to head straight to the store and begin shopping the next batch.

Instacart said the add-on feature will increase efficiency and eliminate drive time to and from customers’ homes before shopping additional orders.

A shopper fulfilling an order at a grocery store may, for instance, be offered an additional order from an alcohol retailer across the street. The new procedure will enable the shopper to quickly fulfill the alcohol order before delivering both orders to customers across town without having to drive back across town a second time, Instacart said.

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The shopper will receive additional time to complete the entirety of the multi-store batch and be paid for the added effort.

The measures are part of an initiative that began last year to launch shopper-first products that improve their experience, an Instacart spokesperson told Supermarket News.

“We always strive to equip shoppers with information on the best ways to earn, so they can earn how they want and when they want,” the spokesperson said.

Shoppers get paid per batch that they complete with minimums of between $7 and $10 for full-service batches, and $5 for delivery-only batches.

An up-front earnings structure enables shoppers to see the payment offered before accepting a batch.