Why Is Instacart So Slow? (10 Reasons Why)

I ordered food using Instacart on a Saturday morning, and the delivery person was very happy, and very helpful in navigating my kitchen so they could figure out how to take the food to their car.

You may be wondering why Instacart is so slow and there are a number of reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that they use “click-and-collect” and you can’t see the order until it is fully scanned.

Why Is Instacart So Slow In 2022?

1. There Aren’t Enough Instacart Shoppers

For example, if a shopper is in a shopping center, but there is nothing for sale, he/she will return to their car.

In other cases, there’s a glut of customers and a shortage of sellers.

That issue can definitely slow down your Instacart experience, as you open the app to see that there are no deliveries or pick-ups available for hours.

If it’s a supply issue, you can either place your order right now, or put it on hold until they get more stock.

The above example shows (or should show), that you should always use the plural when it comes to pick-up orders. However, there are times when you might want to use the singular, especially with things of a personal nature.

An example of when you would want to use a singular pick-up order, is if you are ordering a single pick-up. In those cases, the singular is appropriate.

2. Instacart Is Busier Than Usual

This is the time of year, but it’s the closest to Thanksgiving and that’s been the time of year that we would have a big celebration.

The panic buying started when people started to panic regarding a major weather event that will be coming.

It’s a good idea to stock up on essentials like hand sanitizers, water, toilet paper, and toilet tissue.

You might wait longer to get an available slot, and your ability to get an available slot might be completely random.

Instacart is quick to correct the issues and service is back to normal.

3. You Have a New Instacart Shopper

Everyone started with zero dollars. They all had to work their way up from nothing and have to put in the effort to get where they are now.

So, in other words, some customers are having trouble finding items in their grocery orders. The team’s looking into it and figuring out if there’s any more we can do to help our new shoppers.

Don’t worry yourself, it’s the same for everyone, a bit like putting a coat of mud on a wall to make it seem smoother.

4. Your Instacart Driver Is From Out of Town

We are one of the oldest online grocery delivery services in the country and understand the need for shoppers to shop with others.

You may have bought the wrong item or the other item you ordered may have been put back to the warehouse or even canceled due to something else.

5. You’re Ordering During Instacart’s Peak Hours

We are not sure where you are going with this one but we thought to bring it to your attention just in case you are talking about a new kind of currency.

If you run a store, you find out the busiest times are when your customers will need to get something. You should have a store open or close based upon what people actually want to do.

Because this is the time of year when the weather is at its worst, and it’s cold. This isn’t usually their time to do this!

And finally, my final suggestion is to put this knowledge to use.

If you place an order with Instacart, and it’s been a while since your last delivery, it may take some time to load your order into the system. Sometimes, Instacart is really busy, and it just takes a while to get your order. Don’t worry about waiting too long for your order to come in – we promise it will be fast and it will be worth the wait.

6. The Weather Is Bad in Your Instacart Area

With Instacart, you are able to track your order to verify that the entire order has been shipped.

So the road is going to be bad. The road is going to be slow, the road is going to be narrow, the road is going to be long. Whatever problems there are going to be in the timing of the game, it’s going to have to be based on that.

If the roads are too dangerous to drive, or if you’re dealing with a family emergency, just accept that they aren’t going to be there when you need them.

7. You Didn’t Pay Extra for Instacart’s Priority Delivery

If you are used to paying extra for the delivery option, then it’s going to be a long wait. Like two hours instead of one.

If you are not going to be home in time to pick up the parcel, then it is better to use the “Standard” option. Even if you do not have any special arrangements with your carrier, Standard shipping is almost always a safer and faster option.

8. The Instacart App Is Glitching

Instacart, I hate to say it, but you are a terrible app. I have had some problems with it and it crashes frequently. I have also had issues with both ordering and picking up.

When you see that your app froze you might think that the customer has already checked out. However, they may not have.

If you start to worry that all of your data might be lost, it’s never a bad idea if you restart the device.

9. You Didn’t Give Your Instacart Shopper Enough Instructions

You can try to shorten the delivery time by asking your shoppers the right questions in a timely manner.

If you choose to let the app suggest what you want to buy, it may suggest other items that are similar to what you chose.

If you’re not listening to your phone, then they’re going to wait to see if you respond to their emails, which means that you may get a lot of email but you won’t be able to interact with it.

This is the reason why it is critical to stay connected and only order when you are happy that you can watch your items being shipped.

10. You Gave Your Instacart Shopper Too Many Instructions

You should make sure every item on your list has a note before you go. Otherwise, your shopper will be slow-moving around the store.

You can also provide more specific information when making a purchase, like whether you want a chicken breast or the skin on the chicken.

Yes, but when all the items come with a personal specification, you’ll have to check each one, making the shopping process slow and tedious. On top of this, when you have to go to another store to shop for the missing items, you’ll have to repeat the tedious steps.

If you have any other questions on Instacart checkout our post on how to save money on Instacart.

Conclusion

Some times the Instacart can be more than expected, but the company has an outstanding customer experience team who go out of their way to ensure a smooth, quick experience.

We might receive the customer’s order quickly, or we might receive a delayed order when the customer is rushing or not really knowing what they want.