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Instacart vs Shipt vs Peapod: Best Personal Shopper App?

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Chances are ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have found yourself looking into a grocery delivery service in hopes of limiting contact to people in the outside world to reduce the risk of infection of coronavirus.

The fact of the matter is that grocery delivery service apps are simply booming and are one of the major benefactors of the pandemic. All of a sudden, the more risky age 50+ age groups are forced to lean on grocery delivery apps like Instacart, Shipt, or Peapod for their grocery needs. This in effect has created a huge demand for logistical grocery delivery apps and is no wonder why so many rideshare apps like Uber and DoorDash are looking into getting in the grocery delivery industry soon as well.

Why become a personal shopper?

Simply put, the gig economy apps are booming during this pandemic because many people are either experiencing unemployment or are at risk of reduced employment. Become a personal shopper and earn money on the side. It never hurts to save more money in case of an emergency, especially during a pandemic.

The case for Instacart

Instacart is the most popular grocery delivery app currently situated in the United States with the most market share, with good reason too. Many household brands like Sprouts, Luckys, Costco, Walmart, and Safeway have begun using their services. The grocery delivery app has simply changed how people shop for food, especially even more so now in the era of coronavirus.

The pros of Instacart

Instacart makes the process easy and seamless for the personal shopper to view orders or also known as “batches” and see the full payment including tip all upfront. This in effect makes Instacart very transparent about how much you can make prior to accepting a batch.

In other words, because of how flexible the Instacart workflow is, you may even juggle multiple gig apps at the same time and strategize on how to best effectively maximize your profits.

  • Easy to use and clean interface
  • Stellar customer service on Instacart’s part
  • Personal shopper receives all the tip
  • Flexible
  • Easy to communicate with the customer via the app
  • Excellent training videos
  • Straight to the point
  • Safe and trustworthy for on-time weekly or biweekly payments

How to sign-up for Instacart?

In order to be eligible to become a personal shopper with Instacart, you are asked several basic questions and are asked to do a background check. Shortly after, you will receive news on the approval of their program or not. Realize that once approved, there are a series of video training videos that you are required to watch in order to get the best batch orders with the highest amount of profit. Apply referral bonus code: EFANG291CF

Instacart takes the safety of their personal shoppers seriously and requires that shoppers abide by the guidelines communicated to ensure a safe and smooth experience being a personal shopper in your free time.

My personal experience with Instacart

If you haven’t already read up on my experience being a personal shopper for Instacart, feel free to start reading those blog posts right away. You will come away with the best tips on how to maximize your Instacart profits and how much you can realistically make.

I personally enjoy grocery shopping in general so I find that the work doesn’t feel like work and time moves so quickly. If you feel the same about grocery shopping, then exploring becoming an Instacart personal shopper can definitely be rewarding. The best way is to try it out for yourself and see if you like it. There is absolutely nothing to lose, but all to gain really.

The case for Shipt

Shipt launched in 2014 as a user-friendly app that is meant to serve local communities. “Founded on the mission of simplifying lives, Shipt serves members, shoppers, and communities by offering convenience and freedom.”

Over the years, Shipt has grown tremendously and now operates in over 260 cities in the United States. Shipt is the most notable competitor to the giant that is Instacart. What separates Shipt is that the company is still in the early stages meaning at any given moment Shipt may experience hyper-growth if any of their true competitors like Instacart or Peapod slip up.

All in all, Shipt offers a very similar personal shopper experience to Instacart and offers customers groceries to everyday household essentials. Use promo code: BYX-2K-03G

The pros of Shipt

  • Delivery shipping costs are completely free if orders are over $35
  • Easy to use and clean interface
  • Tip money goes towards the personal shopper
  • Flexible
  • Trustworthy and safe

The case for Peapod

Peapod is based in Chicago and operates in several U.S. cities. The company is one of the oldest food delivery services in the marketplace, founded in 1989. Peapod is the more traditional grocery delivery company on the market currently.

The pros of Peapod

What is unique about their business model is that they incentivize customers to order in bulk to reduce the overall cost of their order.

In other words, Peapod sort of acts as their own marketplace, and when you place an order all the items are purchased directly from the manufacturer, which cuts out the middleman and gives you, the consumer, the best prices on the market.

  • Easy to use
  • Everything is online and direct from the manufacturer
  • Delivery fees get cheaper the bigger the order is
  • No paid membership required to start using the service
  • Peapod double manufacturers’ coupons up to $0.99, which means more savings for you
  • Flexible

Instacart vs Shipt vs Peapod: Which is Best?

I personally am a huge fan of Instacart simply because the volume of orders, tip money, promotions, flexibility to work around my schedule at any time, and efficiency are my main reasons why I prefer using Instacart over Shipt or Peapod.

But don’t let my opinion sway you from not trying out Shipt or Peapod. The beauty of these gig economy apps is that they are flexible and you may even juggle multiple apps even during down times when days are slow.

I strongly recommend trying out Instacart if you enjoy grocery shopping and as you get more experienced, entertain the idea of joining a combination of Shipt or Peapod to maximize earnings.


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Just another aspiring small business owner and amateur photographer blogging in an attempt to break down personal finance lingo.

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