My Instacart membership is up for renewal at $99/yr. If we use a CostCo card, the annual price is $79/year. We also get a free year of GrubHub+.
My question is do you think this is worth it? Instacart was very helpful in those awful months in the Spring 2020 when the pandemic first began, and no one knew what was going on. We were able to avoid going to the grocery for a few months, and I am deeply appreciative of all the risk that the delivery folks took. I gave them large tips, both through the system and in cash.
We used it twice last year, and no times in 2022.
I simply don’t like the higher prices they charge, sometimes 20-40% higher than if you went to the store. This is on top of the yearly fee.
I understand that there is a convenience factor, but it seems this is very expensive given the mark-up on basically each product.
To renew or not to renew?: that is the question. TIA.
For my octogenarian mom, who compares prices by the ounce, etc (classic depression era upbringing inspired shopping) who refuses on the basis of cost, I would say yes yes yes. The delivery and help getting stuff to the kitchen is HUGELY valuable to her.
It really depends on whether you use it and what the value of that is.
That’s what I am thinking too. We do have time to go to the stores ourselves. On a very rare occasion, we used it when we were having folks over and didn’t have time to go to the store.
Your point is well taken.
I’ve noticed that, since the pandemic, delivery services have become really expensive. We used to be able to get dinner delivered at the same price as if we picked it up ourselves with a delivery surcharge. Increasingly, I’m finding that the delivery services are also considerably jacking up the prices for restaurant items, so that, on occasion, it’s almost DOUBLE the price of simply picking it up.
We never paid for membership but used it often at the beginning of pandemic. If you comfortable going to stores I think there’s no reason to overpay. Plus you get much better quality if you go to store yourself not even to mention benefits of shopping therapy
I need therapy from shopping! I detest shopping, except at an uncrowded bookstore. Outside of that, we’re basically fine to go to the stores.
The quality issue is something to consider too. During the beginning of the pandemic, I was real-time chatting with the Instacart person while they were shopping. They would give me options while in the store (not just the ones the Instacart system picked). I don’t know how they were able to manage all this while shopping, but I did appreciate it. We never really suffered an issue with quality, but I did sometimes question the judgment of a particular replacement product if the one we wanted was out of stock.
Instacart was a real help during those early days, so I really appreciate it. It’s just gotten to be SO expensive, and we don’t need it. I guess we can always re-up if we do.
We also have the Amazon Fresh delivery option, and the prices are much closer to in-store. It’s still sometimes tricky to get same-day delivery (during the beginning of the pandemic, it was impossible. I learned to get up just after midnight to get a slot.)
Anyway, I just canceled. Thanks to all. Now, I wonder what I am going to spend that “extra” $79 on!
When mine runs out I’m not renewing. I use it occasionally but it wouldn’t be worth a lot to me at this point. I loved it in the peak of the pandemic though.
I am comfortable shipping in person and have sone so throughout the pandemic. I mask up and try to go in and out as efficiently and quickly as possible. I also try to use the best quality masks and wash my hands when I get home. I try to choose less crowded times to shop as well. So far so good.
I tried wholefoods shopper once. It didn’t work well—about 1/3 of the small order was bag—really fatty ribs (nearly all fat), very brown cauliflower. I was never tempted to try again, even tho I was told I’d be credited for those items. It seemed to defeat the point of having a shopper.
If I was only using the service 2x in 2 years, definitely wouldn’t renew. I’m sure you can find any number of fun things to get for $79takeout from a favorite place or two.
Walmart offers curbside pickup for no charge. Their website is very easy, they let you know if there are any substitution and I’ve had nothing but good experiences.
I think Walmart does have an option for home delivery but it’s easy for me to go there.
Meijer is a Michigan company and they do the same. Their website isn’t as easy to order from. But pick up is free.
We were offered a one time trial delivery via instacart and decided to use it for BJs. It was early on in the pandemic. We ordered toilet paper and were asked if we would accept a substitution. We figured it would be another brand of TP. Well they sent us a text saying they were substituting aluminum foil for the TP. Really? So we cancelled the order, and therefore lost our free trial offer.
At that point, I decided I would rather risk Covid than deal with this vendor.
Instacart was awesome during Covid. I’ve been grocery shopping online from Shoprite for 10+ years for weekly pickup, but there were weeks I couldn’t get a time slot. Instacart and being able to communicate during the shop was amazing, especially with low stock. I’d get photos of shelves sent to me to help me decide substitutions. I also shopped for my very elderly in laws to keep my father in law (93) out of the store (they live an hour away). I used Instacart before Covid on beach vacations to avoid the grocery store madhouse on move in day. I avoided Costco completely for over a year, I had 4 of my 5 kids back at home working remotely or going to school virtually so needed supplies, and the waits on line at Costco were huge. My membership ran out since I don’t use it much anymore, but I’ll use it again.
Instacart was great in those first few months of the pandemic, and they were a lifesaver, both figuratively and literally.
Beginning in March 2020 and probably until the summer of that year, we used them all the time. That was during the “fog of the pandemic” phase when it wasn’t clear how covid was transmitted. I remember meeting the Instacart person with rubber gloves, fully masked, changing clothes, and leaving the groceries outside to air out. Really grateful to them. Back then, the prices were fairly reasonable. I even ordered for some of our older neighbors who couldn’t go shopping back then.
Today, after I posted this OP and while deciding whether to renew, I checked a few prices at a store where I know what the prices are, and they were 30% higher than what I could buy in the store. When I canceled this morning, I gave them that feedback.
I first signed up with Instacart well before the pandemic. My younger child was sick, and my wife and older child were on a school trip. We didn’t really have much food, and I couldn’t leave my child alone. I signed up for Instacart that morning, and I was really pleased at the convenience and cost back then.
I too will consider signing back up with them if conditions warrant. I also appreciate all the posts on free or low-cost curbside pickup. I hadn’t really explored that except for a place like Home Depot. I’ll consider that, if for no other reason, for timesaving.
I really like the pick up options at Walmart. It remembers what I bought. I can keep a running list and check out when I have enough. I can place an order and I can add things to it until a couple of hours before they shop it. The prices are exactly the same as in store.
The drawbacks would be that you can’t pick out your produce which is important for some people. In the summer, we have a seasonal produce market that I pass on the way home. So easy to pick up.
Meijer is similar but the website is a little clunkier.
I really do very little in store grocery shopping anymore. It’s not a chore I miss.
Not worth it to me. I noticed a lot of Instagram shoppers were really clueless about the vegetables, and that were just cabbages and leeks, very simple stuff.
During the pandemic, my husband and I went shopping every week, we went very early, very few people there honestly. I just washed my face and hands when I got home, I have never wiped anything with disinfectant the way most people were doing(I assume they were doing), I figured a long time ago, COVID was transmitted by air and not by surface.
I also like to buy the freshest food and produce and I’m the best person to decide what’s fresh for my family.
That’s said, nobody in my intermediate family has contracted COVID, even my brother and niece who are both doctors and were exposed to people with COVID early on, were tested negative.
We use this, and Kroger’s curbside pick up also. Both have been pretty good, but there have been a few minor problems. Each time there was something unacceptable (expired food or really odd and unusable substitution), both stores were quick to offer a refund for that item.
I looked at InstaCart because that’s what Publix uses here, even for curbside pickup, and was not happy to read about the higher costs of the items on top of the membership fee/delivery cost. I want to know what I’m paying for something before it’s delivered.
Walmart sends me a text with any substitutions and I can accept or decline them. They also ask when I pick up the order.
I’ve never had any problems with moldy or expired food but I’m sure that is location specific.
I do not have Kroger where I am but interestingly, I stopped shopping there when I did because there were too many instances of moldy or expired food. The Kroger where I shopped was the busiest in the district so there was no excuse.
