Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend of pickup services (also known as Curbside picking) has been on a rise. Like other big box stores, Instacart publicly announced this service for the first time on Nov 7, 2018, and has rolled out its pickup services from 2019. A pickup service is a service that facilitates its customers to choose the items online and then picks them up when they are ready, from the store’s gate or designated pickup location as decided by the store. Instacart is providing this service through its 200 stores across 25 key markets located in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Nashville, San Francisco & Washington D.C.

Top Brands With Whom Instacart Has Partnered With: –

  1. ALDICub Foods is a grocery store chain with locations in the Midwest.
  2. Food Lion is a grocery store chain with locations in the Southeast.
  3. Price Chopper is a grocery store chain with locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
  4. Publix is a grocery store chain with locations in the Southeast and Southwest regions.
  5. Wegmans is a grocery store chain with locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
  6. Schnucks is a grocery store chain with locations in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas.
  7. Smart & Final is a discount department store chain with stores throughout the Midwest and Southwestern United States, as well as Puerto Rico and Guam .
  8. Sprouts Farmers Market is an organic supermarket chain that has over 100 stores across nine states . ..

How to Use the Instacart Pickup Service?

You can access Instacart by logging into the Instacart mobile app or website. Now, select your city and desired store. It is important here to note that only the stores, under whose names the word “Pickup” is written, accept the pickup orders. After selecting the store, choose the groceries items in your cart. Here, two options will be displayed on the screen: Pickup and Home delivery. Choose the “Pickup” option. Then, select a pickup time before you log out of the site or app. You will receive a message from the retailer when your order is ready. You can go & pick it up from there.

Why Choose Pickup Option when the Home Delivery Facility is there?

  1. Curbside Picking saves time because you don’t have to go to the store.
  2. You can pick up your order at your home or office, which is convenient for busy people.
  3. You can save money by not going to the store and using Curbside Picking instead.

The main reason to choose the pickup option over in-home delivery is that it guarantees same-day delivery. This is a huge time-saver, as nobody has any spare minutes these days. Plus, it’s much safer to have your order delivered to your doorstep rather than having to wait for it to arrive at your home. ..

Reduced logistics costs - From the suppliers’ viewpoint, this option is also advantageous over home delivery as many of the costs are automatically cut down like shipping, packing, postal charges incurred in sending parcels or packages, etc. Omni channel experience - Many of the customers get satisfaction in traditional shopping by going to brick & mortar stores. Only curbside picking can give you satisfaction by providing you with both the comfort of online shopping as well as the experience of face-to-face interaction with the retailer while collecting the goods. ..

  1. You may not be able to get what you want.
  2. You may not be able to get what you need in the way that you want it.
  3. You may not be able to get what you need in a way that is best for you.

Higher Expectations of Customers 

Delays in arranging and packing the ordered items can lead to customer dissatisfaction. ..

Customers’ Travelling Costs

A customer has to incur travel costs for going to the store if they want to pick up the items ordered.

More Staff is required

To successfully execute the pickup service, it is necessary to hire more employees who are skilled and effective in handling simultaneously the customers in store and customers waiting outside the store for pickup. As in real-time, it is not possible to carry the items, to each and every customer, at the same time with a limited staff.

Conclusion 

Instacart is a great initiative because it eliminates the need to interact with other people while shopping. You can order your groceries without having to go inside the store, and one employee will bring your order out to your car parked in the store’s parking lot. You can schedule your pick-up as convenient for you at any time, and if for any reason you can’t get there at the scheduled time, you can inform them by calling. Instacart takes care of keeping your order safe for you no matter what. ..