My Mom Has Shopped Nearly 1,000 Instacart Orders — Here Is Exactly How Much She Makes in a Day

If you’ve ever used a grocery delivery app — scrolling through stores, adding groceries, firing off a quick “that works” in the chat — it’s easy to forget there’s a real person on the other end working for you in real time. 

I’ll admit that I didn’t really think all too much about it either, until my mom started Instacart shopping during the height of the pandemic almost six years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina. Back in those days I used to keep her company, but I was only half-paying attention; now that I am a groceries editor, I was way more interested in spending a day shadowing my mom as she worked her Instacart shift.

What I expected was a fairly straightforward errand run with a flexible schedule. But instead, what happened was a much more intense day where I witnessed my mom wearing many hats (part customer service, part strategy, and part social skills).

My mom has been doing this for years — long enough to develop a sixth sense for selecting the ripest fruit (she’s an expert avocado-picker), memorize store layouts, and learn the delicate art of empathetically texting complete strangers about their groceries. With nearly 1,000 orders under her belt, I think it’s safe to say that my mom is a pro.

I tagged along with her recently to see what really goes into a day of Instacart shopping, and to answer a question I think a lot of us have (whether we realize it or not): What does this job actually look like from the other side of the app? And how much does a shopper make? Well, here’s what I learned.

We spent the day at Costco, Publix, and Food Lion. We shopped a total of five different orders over the course of around 3 hours. Here’s the breakdown: 

Order 1: Two batches at Costco (which means two different orders from one store). The first order was 28 units, with a few heavy items (bags of rice, water bottles — we needed two carts for this one order), and the second order was six items from the bakery. In total, she made $93.29, and the job took us 2 1/2 hours to finish (from the start of shopping to delivery). 

Order 2: At Publix, we had a similar deal where we shopped two batch orders. The first order was 52 units, and the second one was just eight items (Instacart often stacks a large order with a smaller one). It took us about 1 1/2 hours, and she made $68.24 on this job.

Order 3: On our way home, my mom wanted to run by Food Lion to do one last order; that one was mostly drinks (a lot of soda, water bottles, and juice) and was just 12 units, but it was incredibly heavy. It took us about an hour to shop, and my mom made $34.74 on it. 

Time spent working: 5 hours
Money made: $196.27

It’s easy to think of grocery delivery as a simple convenience, but behind every order is a shopper juggling far more than just a list. The job is physical. There’s lots of walking aisles, lifting heavy bags, and loading and unloading groceries. In one day, we hit 10,000 steps from a 5-hour shopping ordeal. It’s also mentally taxing: tracking substitutions, comparing prices and sizes, and managing multiple orders at once, all while staying on schedule. Don’t take any of it lightly. 

Of all the app-based gigs, Instacart relies heavily on real-time communication. Your shopper isn’t just picking things up — they’re making judgment calls on your behalf. The more responsive you are, the smoother (and more accurate) your order will be. If you are looking for something and it’s out of stock, please be available to receive (and respond) to a quick text message. My mom told me that customers don’t often check their chats, which can affect her ratings if someone thinks she did a poor job or messed up — all because they couldn’t answer a quick question. Clear delivery instructions are just as important. If you have a gate code, leave it; and if you want your groceries left in a certain spot, please make a note of that too. 

The bottom line is that staying alert, sharing clear preferences, and leaving detailed instructions helps your shopper do a better job and helps ensure you get exactly what you want.

After each order, Instacart prompts customers to leave a rating — and it carries real weight for shoppers going forward. Take a moment to rate your shopper after delivery. My mom explained to me that ratings affect everything. It impacts the batches that she sees (higher-paying ones for higher ratings) and her general morale. 

It’s quick, easy, and one of the most direct ways to support the person who just shopped for you.

Do you use Instacart? Tell us about it in the comments below.