There are some pieces of modern culture I just can’t help but be thankful for: toilet paper, Advil, York Peppermint Patties. The latest on my list of gratitude: personalized grocery delivery via Instacart.
Home grocery delivery isn’t a new thing, but Instacart takes it to an even more personal level – you have one person shopping for you and delivering. They do stores beyond just grocery stores and delivery is FAST.
I just started ordering last month because they started delivering Wegmans, my favorite grocery store. I’ve already ordered 3 times! This is HUGE for me people. Life is crazy with kids and work and sometimes it’s just so much nicer to be able to get all the goodies you need from the comfort of your own home. I can’t wait to take advantage of this in the winter when I become a hermit and really never leave the house because of the cold.
So visit Instacart and plug in your zip code to see 1) if it’s available to you and 2) what stores they will service. I have 4 stores that they will deliver for me – 3 grocery stores and Petco, the latter of which I haven’t used yet but I definitely plan on doing because there’s some pet items I can’t get in a grocery store.
If you use my Instacart link, you’ll get $10 off plus free delivery (plus I’ll get $10 too!) so check it out and let me know what you think. So far so good for us.
A couple last notes to answer some questions you have:
Cost
Yes, it’s a little more expensive than if you went on your own. If you join (You can do a trial for free first), you’ll have $149 annually to be able to use the service and get free delivery. On top of that, there’s a 10% service charge that goes to your driver and Instacart. You have the option to tip on top of that if you want. IMO, it’s worth it for the convenience but full disclosure – you can make your grocery bill cheaper if you shop on your own, no doubt about it.
Quality of Produce
A couple of friends have asked me how the produce is – everyone’s picky about their produce. Yah, I get that. You want to squeeze and pick your own melon out the way Grandma taught you. My produce has been fine. I order quite a bit and in the 3 times I ordered, I would only say I was disappointed in the quality of the produce the one time. I got a bad bag of a couple of pieces of corn. I think the guy just didn’t check under the husk. Otherwise, all has been good.
Delivery availability
I wanted to note another piece that’s awesome about Instacart – the delivery is pretty much instant, as in same-day. I’ve almost never been able to get that with Peapod. Of course it depends on the time of day you order (you can’t oder at 9pm and get it same day) but you can typically get a delivery within a few hours. I ordered on a Sunday afternoon at 2p and had my food by 4:30p. And another time? We were road tripping home, arriving back at the house at 9pm. My husband was driving so I shopped via the app and had a delivery arriving when we woke up in the morning the next day!
Check out Instacart and let me know if you do it and what you think! Did I mention that you get texts along the way? While they are shopping, if they have to substitute, and you can interact and say yes or no to anything along the way!
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