• Instacart

Instacart

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Overview

Instacart has a rating of 1.2 stars from 2,477 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Instacart most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and grocery store problems. Instacart ranks 134th among Grocery Delivery sites.

  • Service
    597
  • Value
    560
  • Shipping
    401
  • Returns
    408
  • Quality
    498
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 1.1%
Positive
1
Neutral
1
Negative
91
455
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How would you rate Instacart?
Top Positive Review

“Convenient Grocery Delivery Service”

Rekhmir S.
4/2/24

Instacart offers a convenient grocery delivery service, allowing me to shop from my favorite stores without leaving home. Whether I need fresh produce, pantry staples, or specialty items, Instacart delivers everything I need with reliable service and fast delivery. I appreciate the flexibility of scheduling delivery windows and the option to communicate with my shopper in real-time. Instacart has become a lifesaver, especially during busy weeks

Top Critical Review

“Bad customer service”

Mike K.
9/14/24

I had to wait on hold for 35 minutes before the problem with my order was addressed. The shopper delivered someone else's order. I'm not upset about that - nobody is perfect. What is outrageous to me is the time I had to spend on-hold waiting for a person in the "delivery mistakes" deptartment to get on the line. The person who answered my call was not allowed to take care of the problem, whether rescheduled delivery or refund, so I had to be punished with a long wait on the phone. When the wrong order delivered person finally got on the line, they rescheduled my delivery for tomorrow and promised some discounts or free delivery or something else because I had a hard time understanding what she was saying. For all the money I spend in a year with Instacart, I would expect far better customer service than this!

Reviews (2,477)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (654) credit card (194) service fee (172) delivery fee (136) grocery store (110)
Thumbnail of user aliceb491
New Jersey
4 reviews
29 helpful votes
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June 8th, 2020

At a time like this when a senior is restricted because of pandemic it would be such a great service... but when they inflate the cost it becomes extravagant for a senior on low SS. My $35 order adds up to $48. Don't mind tip and delivery. Then they add service fee and then finally they charged $60 with a little note I had to search for. Said I was charged $60 in error and it will be adjusted within 4 or 5 days... lousy way to do business... losing trust in Instacart... at a time like this... seniors like me are grateful for service but taking advantage is not good... I don't know if they car

Thumbnail of user am717
Oklahoma
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 24th, 2020

So i just paid instacart almost $200 for groceries from Country Mart. The driver instead went to some discount grocery outlet not even affiliated with instacart. I've never heard of the store nor do i want food from some mystery discount outlet. She changed my order as she wanted as well. I have the receipt the shopper left in the bag with a bunch of stuff i never ordered.

Thumbnail of user amyz114
Pennsylvania
1 review
6 helpful votes
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March 27th, 2020

I shopped Aldi via Instacart for 1st time during this stay-at-home period. It worked great. I was able to order abt 95% of what I wanted, and abt 98% of that was available and got delivered within 24 hrs. My 1st 3 orders have no delivery fee, so between the tip, a small service fee and a slight increase in some food prices, I don't think I spent more than an extra $10 for this invaluable service provided at a time when I don't want to go into any stores what-so-ever. The shopper picked great produce and it was packed well. I am grateful.

Thumbnail of user patriciak514
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 21st, 2020

Thought I would give instacart a try. What a mistake. I chose Ralph's. First it was annoying to see so many fees and such high prices on goods that I regularly buy at Ralph's for much cheaper. But, I went ahead. Then I get a notice that they are replacing 3 liquid egg whites with regular liquid eggs. Not the same thing at all. Then two other things had to be replaced. I had only ordered 12 things and 4 didn't come as planned. But, the real clincher was that when I went to unload the bag, 4 things were missing that they had listed as having been bought. There was one item in the bag that I never ordered. Obviously the delivery person got someone orders mixed up. Now stuck trying to get my money back from a place that doesn't take phone calls. All around a thoroughly miserable experience. I am going to just reject entire charge I am so annoyed by experience. Stay away.

Thumbnail of user marias1474
Florida
1 review
6 helpful votes
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February 20th, 2021

We submitted a large order from Costco. My son does not have a car in college. We were very pleased and gave a large tip. Of course you pay more but why do people think that a company shopping for you and delivering your groceries should be free or low charge? Time is money and this is worth it. Tip these guys well that are work hard.

Service
Value
Shipping
Thumbnail of user williamm2080
New York
1 review
4 helpful votes
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August 21st, 2020

Your satisfaction will very much depend on your shopper. Yesterday i had a horrible experience with them. I am very careful to type in big, bold letters, "no replacements or substitutions " in the box marked preferences which gives you that option. My request was totally ignored on 4 items. Their markup is huge. Their deliveries are prompt. I would switch to a different service, but unfortunately fortunately they are the only service in my area.

Thumbnail of user vicg22
Pennsylvania
2 reviews
16 helpful votes
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January 15th, 2022

It's not bad enough that that all deliveries are wrong, they never call for substitutes either.( I have specified to get substitutes when necessary)
On my first order, I noticed that they had charged my card before a set amount much greater than the total cost of order. (Never mentioned it or ask for permission) ( Very sneaky)
Many of the shoppers they hire are clueless. I once ordered Chocolate chips for baking and they delivered some brand of choc. Chip Cookies. What?
In addition, if you call customer service, you are in for another adventure. They make up stories, in place of the truth and it's obvious. They are incapable of finding a solution to any of your concerns.
I'm frustrated so I say: Bye, bye Instacart.

Tip for consumers:
Find another delivery service.

Products used:
A selection of food items.

Thumbnail of user belkysa1
Florida
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
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October 25th, 2018

I have used them twice. Employees do not read, wrong items arrive. Instacart does not adjust your original order total to the actual total billed. Their email stated,
"Your statement will reflect a final
Total charge of $60.16 within 7 business days of order completion". The receipt driver provided has a total of $43.51. I ordered last night Oct 24 and this morning Oct 25 I had a deduction from my bank of $59.50. Not even their accounting/technology is any good.

Thumbnail of user maryamn25
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 3rd, 2022

Instacart works with other stores to determine what they will sell to what people in what neighborhood. Both instacart and Walmart jointly rescheduled my food delivery over 3 times. They determined that my neighborhood was not worthy although I paid for my items through credit although it shouldn't matter. When I called for help the rep had a lack of care or concern and seemed to be unaware of.good customer service. He tried to tell me that Walmart was out of the 31 items I needed. Really? It's like winning the Lotto.Hey you never know...LIARS!

Thumbnail of user jenniferr405
California
1 review
3 helpful votes
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July 22nd, 2018

I say Fraudulent practices! First they gave me double orders and I had to fix that. Then I spent 30 bucks and they charged me $149.00 for some express service I never signed up for. The woman was very nice and said she would return the money, however not for 5 to 10 days and I am retired, my transmission went out and the guy fixing it took my money and ran. I just feel I am getting screwed by everyone! I will NEVER use this again! Cheaters and the prices are too high online and it is difficult to shop on. I'm BROKE! Thanks a lot.

Thumbnail of user shannons598
California
2 reviews
10 helpful votes
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May 17th, 2020

Prices are higher than in store (across all the stores), additional 'service fee' based on order size "so they can run background checks' -... isn't that what the $99 membership fee is for? Customer service nominally helpful but I ended up paying $17 for a single order as I cancelled the subscription after seeing the additional service fees and consistently higher prices. Most expensive delivery service ever used - lol. Except, I'm not laughing yet.

Thumbnail of user andreal1001
California
1 review
1 helpful vote
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January 10th, 2023

My account was hacked 6 months ago. I contacted via email to close my account because this person kept resetting my password over and over again. They said if I provided them with all this insanely specific info they would close the account. They never responded. I emailed another 15 times. Nothing. Someone keeps hacking hacking the account, they send me a dozen emails per week to reset the password but it never works. They don't give a $#*! that someone has access to my credit card information. I continually have fraudulent charges I need to remedy with my bank. I would never EVER use this service every again.

Tip for consumers:
NEVER USE IT!

Products used:
Instacart. My card info has been hacked over and over again for the last 6 months. I've emailed 20 times. I get about 10 emails per week about fraudulent hacking. They refuse to shut down my account or stop it in any way.

Service
Value
Shipping
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Quality
Thumbnail of user sharonp1025
California
1 review
1 helpful vote
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February 28th, 2021

If you need help with an order by chatting or calling Instacart, don't waste your time. The agents on chat don't always read your messages, and when they do, they don't always solve your problem. Calling them is not much better. I haven't been able to view my existing orders. They say work is in progress with their "platform." That is an urgent issue but this reason continues to be given out week after week!

Thumbnail of user alw19
Mauritius
4 reviews
14 helpful votes
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August 9th, 2017

Tried one order of cat food. Without permission, shopper bought a different product that my cat can't eat. Price that was quoted online was 10 bucks less than what they wanted to charge. They save your CC in a database and you can't delete it. If they get hacked, you're again screwed. Awful.

Thumbnail of user kenta39
California
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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July 17th, 2020

I ordered from Costco using Instacart. Compared package prices of meat items to what was charged on my credit card. I was charged anywhere from a 42% premium on one item down to 5% on another. Average premium charges on meat products was 24%. Don't know about rest of order since there were no package prices for anything except meat. Tried three times to get Instacart to explain their premium policies but never got an answer. Do not use Instacart! They will charge you huge premiums and you won't be able to tell how badly you got screwed!

Thumbnail of user mikeh2640
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 4th, 2023

Customer support is abhorrent. AI generated responses are garbage. Not one email (of many) wa responded to with anything but a canned auto response. They have no one who speak English to speak with in the call center in the middle of Asia and don't do anything to solve even the most minor of disputes!

My most recent message got mixed up with THREE other angry customers where we are all receiving each other's responses to the robot auto messages!

What a joke!

Buyer beware! Shopping is hit or miss but corporate is a joke with no sense of obligation to customers.

Horrible, useless, feckless "support."

Shame on them!

Tip for consumers:
Don’t expect any resolution to any issue or conflict you have - they simply are not interested in helping!

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user lorieb24
Michigan
1 review
3 helpful votes
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November 3rd, 2019

I understand there are always human error and even computer error! But I have ordered instacart four times and twice they have screwed it up. Did not try to rectify it. I got no call back from instacart supervisor or corporate. They cancelled my order today which took me two days to make from Kroger. I will never use this business again. They do not conduct themselves or expect their employees to conduct themselves professionally. There customer service skills are the worst I've ever seen. Beware I hope this company goes out of business.

Thumbnail of user kylop
Oregon
1 review
1 helpful vote
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August 13th, 2021

They trick you on your first order making you think you are getting free delivery but the prices are much higher than in in the grocery store. Not really free delivery. My delivery time was supposed to be at 6:30, it came at 8:30. Instead of an apple pie I got a one serving size cherry pie. Called customer service and they said they would give me $1.37 refund for my pie. Needless to say I came unglued. At this point I have taken other action. This delivery service is horrible! Stay tuned. I hope this website shares this comment to Instacart.

Tip for consumers:
Look at the prices and compare to the ones in the store.

Products used:
Food

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user kristent102
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 18th, 2020

I order frequently from various delivery apps. Sometimes orders get messed up. Normally those companies make sure to make it right for the customer without a hassle. Instacart could care less. Ordered two 12" subs, received two 6" subs. Tried for an hour to get them to have the driver get the rest of my order. Was on hold and disconnected or phone issues until after the store closed. If they would have handled properly at the first call, it could have been handled. This was my first time using this company and certainly will be my last.

Thumbnail of user jamiet206
Virginia
1 review
41 helpful votes
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April 6th, 2020

I've been using the service for a couple of years, and would generally give 4 stars. However, the service has slipped to zero in the past couple of weeks. They've been busy i. E. making more money, but new hires are not being trained properly, there is no customer service by phone or online and I don't know if the site has crashed. This is new. I've been trying to follow up a complaint about wrong items delivered on April 1. Here it is April 6 and I still can not get anyone to straighten it out. Really, really bad.

Thumbnail of user anns652
Washington
1 review
18 helpful votes
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May 28th, 2020

We used Instacart 4 times before we discovered the scam. This last time, the delivery person left his receipt in our grocery bag. He paid $61.58 for our groceries. Add in the fees and tip added another $15.86 to the bill for a total of $77.44. Instagram charged us $95! I complained and was told Albertsons is to blame. Are they? I compared the shopping prices and noted most of the prices jacked up (circled in the photos with the price difference at the sides). I am appalled and livid. This cannot be legal.

Thumbnail of user jerrada1
Alaska
1 review
8 helpful votes
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November 11th, 2022

We run an assisted living facility and switched to using instacart so our people could better focus on the care. We put in an order today, and they canceled it, won't reinstate the account, or put the order through. Well there are a few dozen seniors who can't get their products now. Thanks, Instacart! Good job! I am positive that this is the best way to protect your consumers and there is no other way to communicate.

Tip for consumers:
They might just shut you down randomly for no reason and not reinstate you. Be prepared for periods of not using this service and don't rely on them.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user johnp4171
New Jersey
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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July 17th, 2021

We will never use Instacart again. My wife had groceries scheduled for 12 pm today in Sea Isle City in NJ. We are still waiting after numerous calls to ShopRite and Instacart. We have 12 people who were counting on food today. Instacart could not even guarantee tomorrow. Take your own food or just shop when you get to your vacation site and save the frustration

Products used:
We went and shopped for groceries ourselves

Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user donnah452
Michigan
1 review
1 helpful vote
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October 7th, 2019

Ordered on line for the first time, Took them two days and two different drivers to get here. They had trouble finding my place with there GPS Gave them Easy Directions, should have taken about a 1/2 hour to delivery! Then I received a phone call from the manager from the store saying They never deliver online grocery's. You have to pick them up. What gives//

Thumbnail of user karenh1510
California
1 review
58 helpful votes
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March 27th, 2020

I placed an order that included bacon. When they delivered the order, the bacon was room temperature. Ugh! Who knows how long it was sitting out. Unlike other delivery services, they did not have it specially wrapped or anything. Disgusted. Can't even get a hold of anyone unless you want to wait 2.5 hours which is what the automatic voice said. Not even an option to have an automatic call back. I will NEVER use Instacart again.

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Instacart delivers groceries from local stores in two hours. Choose from stores like Whole Foods Market, Target, Costco and Petco. Try us today for free.

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