Can You Really Make a Living from a Personal Shopper App in 2020?

How to make ends meet by simply going to the grocery store

Two years ago…

My brother made it big on Instacart. By big, I mean he was probably making $3–4k a month, and was able to move to the big city and start his own life. It was pretty crazy that an unemployed 19-year-old suddenly had a burst of income from delivering groceries.

This was before it was mainstream, and most people we told just said, “that’s dumb, I’ll go to the store and pick out my own groceries”.

I decided that if my brother could do it, that meant I had potential, too. I was teaching at the time, and I decided if I could make a few extra bucks on breaks and weekends, I’d do it.

I applied and was accepted quickly, but quickly learned it was a huge waiting game — you need a lot of luck, and you need to know grocery stores like the back of your hand.

Now, I thought I knew grocery stores well. I do know the general layout as well as someone who has been paying attention for at least one shopping trip. However, what I don’t know are all of the random niche items that people want that I have never purchased.

It really didn’t help that I was plant-based while doing this either, because visiting the deli or dairy section was like entering a foreign land.

My first shopping trip was anxiety-ridden, and I struggled to find the house. They had a blind-driveway and the customer didn’t answer my texts when I asked them where to park — I even pulled into the wrong person’s driveway because the house wasn’t labeled well. It felt like a disaster to me, but I did make a bit of money.

By that I mean I made $28.64. I did two different trips, and was online for about 10 hours total waiting for trips in my area.

When you drive, you have to pick something close to you because the company doesn’t pay you for gas or time there from your starting location, only once you start shopping at the store until you drop off the items at the customer’s home.

I got ok tips, but nothing to write home about. I was determined to be faster, and did another two batches the next day.

I was slightly more efficient and picked up trips by just driving to a certain popular grocery store, and waiting in the parking lot until I got a batch that matched. My brother said this was a huge game-changer for him, but only if you get lucky.

He also learned the tricks of the trade — he had a tablet with wifi just for his shopping trips, and he was good enough that he took multiple orders on one trip — where you have multiple people you’re shopping for during one store trip, and it’s up to you to keep them organized and separate all the way through checkout to their doorsteps.

On this day, I had to pile 12 boxes of LaCroix into a cart (among about 30 other items) and drop them off on a doorstep 16 miles from the store, sort of in the mountains.

It was a lot. I was tired. My hands hurt, and the Whole Foods employees thought I was crazy.

I made a bit more money here through two batches, but again, nothing to write home about.

Now that more people have to stay home — and I am young, healthy, and working from home with flexible hours, it has me wondering… should I step out to make a few dollars now that this is more popular, and even crazy in-demand?

To shop or not to shop…

I do want to help those who can’t leave their homes, but I am worried about the tip-baiters, where some customers dangle a huge tip out at the beginning, then change it during the three-day window post-trip.

On the flip side, I saw one the other day that had a $2 tip… which for a $9 order might seem great, but in reality when those shoppers are paying for their own gas to get to the store. They’re often not earning much from each trip at all during pandemic times… it begs the question —

Would you shop for extra cash, or as a main source of income right now?

Let me know what you think, or if you’ve shopped for any type of personal shopping service! I’d love to hear about other experiences, great, or not so great.

You might also like—

Click here to be added to my email list to stay updated on future posts.