Occasionally, I see cool apps or services and I keep them in the back of my mind. There are some great online stores and great ways to get groceries and products delivered to your home at great prices. We have Amazon Prime. I have used Peapod (and Fresh Direct when we lived in New York). In Chicago, getting groceries is easier because we have a car. I also love to shop as much as possible from the Farmers Markets while it is the season and I get produce delivered from Door to Door Organics every other week. [Leave a comment if you are interested in ordering and getting $15 off your first order from Door to Door.] There are two shopping related services that have been on my mind: Instacart and Boxed. I tried Instacart and my friend, Lisa, tried Boxed.
Instacart is a grocery delivery service that delivers in as little as an hour! They connect you with “Personal Shoppers” in your area who pick up and deliver your groceries from your favorite local stores. In my area, they deliver from Whole Foods, Costco, Plum Market, Mariano’s, Jewel Osco, Stanley’s (a huge produce market) and Tony’s Fresh Market. All they are missing is Trader Joe’s and I can walk to one of those! Personal Shoppers deliver in the Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, Seattle & Washington D.C. areas.
You order online from a list of common items in your selected store or you can request specific items that you are looking for. If the items are not available, the shopper will call or text you to see if you would like a replacement or to ask you a question. You can request to receive your groceries in less than 2 hours or schedule for a later time. The first delivery is free and future deliveries are $3.99 for 2 hour delivery or $5.99 for 1 hour delivery if you order $35 or more. You can tip your driver with the order or after you see how it goes.
I was on deck to cook for friends who recently had twins. I planned to do a bunch of shopping at Green City after my run on Saturday. As it turned out, it was FREEZING. Even after warming up with some coffee, I was shivering. I bought a few items and went home. I remembered that Instacart was doing a special with Whole Foods. I also did not have my car because the husband took it for the weekend. I decided to roll the dice and try out my $10 off for signing up and free shipping with Instacart.
I selected everything that I needed for my recipe and I was not near the $35 so I got some staples that we needed. I ordered around 2 PM and got a confirmation. My shopper called me at 3:30 with questions about two items. She was extremely polite and helpful. She gave me an ETA. She arrived at 4:07 and apologized profusely for “being late.” All of my items were packed in one bag.
I went up and checked everything out. [Bad blogger – I forgot to take a photo.] I was impressed with her produce picking. Everything looked great and was very fresh. The perishable items were cold and fresh. Everything was as I expected. And this was as easy as could be.
So, as far as I am concerned, two thumbs up for Instacart. I would definitely pay $3.99 + tip to get great groceries delivered quickly. I work from home so this is a huge convenience and time saver. I think it would be great for parents with kids of the age that make shopping so tough. I am also intrigued about deliveries from Costco. I am not a member, but I assume the shoppers are! This could be dangerous.
You also get $5 for each referral (up to $25) with a link in your account. If you order with this link, you get $10 off your first order and I get $5 (up to $20 more because Debbie tried it!)
You can keep up with Instacart on Twitter and Facebook.
[I posted this on Friday in my Friday Finds, but since it seems related to me, I am posting it again in case folks missed it.]
I have been keeping up with Boxed but have not tried it yet. Boxed lets you do warehouse club shopping from your smartphone, tablet or PC. They say you can “forget long lines, hassles and backaches. Boxed has all your favorite big box sized products at pint-sized prices. Save on time, gas and membership fees while shopping for items you use every day – all shipped to your door.” As I mentioned, I have not tried it, but Finds’ friend (and fellow deal finder extraordinaire), Lisa, a working mom in NYC, did. She shared her experience and piqued my interest again!
See Lisa’s full review HERE and learn the trick I suggested for getting a bigger discount, too.
I love it when my advice works. Check out Boxed and don’t forget to use Lisa’s coupon code KSVUQ to save $10 on your first order.
Let me know if you try it and how it goes! You can keep up with Boxed on Facebook and Twitter.
These are some great ways to get groceries and goods you want and need delivered right to your door. Have you tried these or any other similar services? Tell me about it in the comments.
PS. Don’t miss my three great giveaways!
Please note: I was not compensated to mention these vendors. This post does contain referral links and codes so Lisa and I will get credit if you try the service and redeem the $10 offers. All good! All opinions are my own.