I’ve been meaning to write a post and Instacart review for over year. So here I am finally getting around to it because….. Instacart Chicago is now available in the burbs!  Can we have a moment of silence?

One of the biggest adjustments to suburban dwelling is lack of almost any type of delivery service. You want food and pretty much anything around here it requires resorting to your own source of transportation.

Instacart provides same-day grocery delivery in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Miami and Atlanta easily from a computer, tablet or mobile device.

When I first began using the service, Instacart was not available outside the city. Just a few weeks ago I happily reconnected with my online friend and we’re back in business.  There is something so powerful about any service or product that makes life easier – especially for busy moms.

7 Reasons You Need Instacart

• Avoid the lines. You can order from Whole Foods, Costco, Petco and Mariano’s from the comfort of your home – in your PJ’s. Each store’s inventory is available via Instacart. All you do is search for the items you love and need from their directory. That is power people. Anything to avoid crowds at Costco any day of the week and Whole Foods on the weekends – heck yeah!
• There’s an app. I can’t even believe how life changing it is to shop on-the-go from my mobile device. The Instacart app is mind blowing and takes grocery shopping to the next level. I order from the carpool line, doctor’s waiting room, at the bank, cheer practice, soaking in the tub – you name it. Any location that involves waiting and remembering I’m out of milk.

• Cool Customer Service. The drivers and shoppers are super cool and considerate. They call you from the store before checking out to ask if there is anything else they should purchase before leaving the store. AND they call to let you know items are not available and ask if they can substitute or provide a credit for said item.
• Shopping List on Steroids. Once you begin using Instacart it learns your behavior so all the items you order regularly pop up after logging in. You can also go back to past orders and add those items into your cart with a click of a button! Can’t find what you’re looking for? Add a special request item providing the brand, size and any other details needed for the shopper. {See that little green icon with the 1 on the Green Peas below? That’s telling me I’ve added this to my cart and how many.}

• 2 hour Delivery. Stuff shows up usually within 2 hours!! Forgot the chicken needed for that gourmet meal you plan to create tonight? No problem – Instacart can shop for your entire meal (and more) and have it at your door by the time you get home from work. (NOTE: time restrictions apply to this fabulousness so be sure to check the website for more details).
• Same Prices. Prices are the same as in-store. I promise because I’ve checked this myself. And if it’s higher I remember the driver calling and asking me if this was ok to purchase.
• Spend Less Money. That’s right you spend less money!! Say what? Rather than strolling the aisles grabbing those impulse items (truffle popcorn and anything chocolate is my weakness), you’re only shopping for what’s needed.

Did you like everything about Instacart??

Yes I really like everything about Instacart except for one tiny little challenge. Let me be very clear that my only complaint was experienced in the city and NOT in the burbs. But I’m hopefully Instacart has changed their process.

As a frequent Whole Foods Lincoln Park customer, many of the items purchased for our family are only available at this particular store as it is the largest in the Chicagoland area. It’s a Whole Foods mega store. In the beginning of using Instacart all of my deliveries were coming from this location and all was heavenly.

Eventually I started to notice many of my items were unavailable because the drivers were choosing to shop at smaller Whole Foods around the city. As any Whole Foods aficionado understands, the smaller stores carry only a percentage of the Lincoln Park store.

This is understandable and no fault of Whole Foods.

The issue becomes the Instacart driver/shopper, as the items I want to purchase are appearing on Instacart allowing me to purchase online. After a few experiences of more than half my order not being available, it became more of an inconvenience to use the service.

What is the point of paying for delivery if I still need to go to the grocery store the next day to get all the missing items?

As a big fan of Instacart I reported the issue to customer service several times expressing my concern and suggesting an easy solution. They should simply be shopping at the store that is located in my zip code.

At the time they were not able to make this change so I said farewell. Which was really a bummer because I am all about skipping the grocery store at all costs.

YOU MUST TRY INSTACART!! 

Just think of all the time you’ll save for doing fun things like cooking gourmet meals for the family and sharing all your food pics on Instagram.

Like I said Instacart is insta good. If you decide to give it a try please use my link and receive $10 off your first grocery order.

With Instacart Express ($99/year), all your 2 hour and scheduled deliveries/pickup orders over $35 are free! This pays for itself for weekly users like me.

This post contains affiliate links that help support my latte fund.