One of the most widely available services is Instacart, a grocery delivery service where personal shoppers select your items from the store and then deliver them to your door. You can often get same-day delivery (even within an hour), depending on your location. Store options are vast, and include major retailers such as Albertsons, ALDI, Costco, CVS, Kroger, Loblaw, Publix, Sam’s Club, Sprouts, Wegmans—even your local pharmacy, fishmonger, wine shop, Sephora store, or Sur La Table is likely on Instacart. And Instacart has introduced many new features to help you get fresh groceries delivered to your home, such as a special Senior Support Service for customers over age 60. Whether you’ve been using Instacart—or another grocery delivery service—for years or you’re ready to get started, here are a few genius tips, tricks, and hacks for using the app to its upmost potential. (Because safety first, but endless hours of your life back second.) To improve your odds of finding all the fresh items on your shopping list, just create and schedule your order the night before you’d like it to be delivered. You can select the earliest delivery slot for the next morning. From there, you can adjust the cart further by adding or deleting items as necessary. Another (less committal) option is to go to your favorite store on the app and peruse the “Buy it Again” carousel or tab at the bottom of the screen—then quickly add your most purchased items to your cart one by one. You can even track replacements, chat with their shopper while they shop, and help notify them when their order has arrived. You can also use their filters to see what’s on sale or by price point: Simply search for the item you’re looking for (e.g., milk) and then select the filter icon next to the search bar in order to refine your search accordingly. Your shopper can also send you photos of what’s available on the shelves, so you can get the Ben & Jerry’s flavor you really want instead of a random replacement.
