How To Get More Batches On Instacart

Do you love working in the gig economy?

Whether you drive an Uber, work for TaskRabbit, or shop for groceries on Instacart, you probably enjoy setting your own schedule and being your own boss.

Yet, you may not always get quite enough profit from these gigs.

As such, we have put together the perfect guide to help gig workers learn how to get more batches on Instacart.

To increase your revenue, keep reading to learn all about Instacart batches and ways to increase the number of batches you have.

Let’s get started!

Table Of Contents

Instacart Batches: A Primer

Before you learn how to get more batches on Instacart, it is important to understand what a batch is and how Instacart works as a platform.

Instacart batches are essentially the grocery shopping orders that people make.

You can think of Instacart batches as the total number of groceries personal shoppers bag for each customer.

The full-service shopper handpicks the groceries from the store for the customers and then bags everything.

Lastly, the personal shopper delivers the orders to customers’ homes.

How Do Orders Get Assigned?

Instacart orders are all based on the overall ratings of personal shoppers.

The shoppers with the highest ratings have the first offer to take an order.

If your rating drops below five stars, you will not be the first one to have an order assigned.

This doesn’t mean you won’t get any more orders, but there may be fewer orders if your rating is below other personal shoppers.

What Time Do Instacart Batches Start?

When you create an account with Instacart, you can set up your own work schedule.

Fill out the hours you are willing to work as a personal shopper.

As such, your Instacart batches should begin during your first working hours.

You can pick out multiple shifts and, if you are an experienced personal shopper, you may have access to the following week’s schedule to choose your selected delivery time window.

How Does Instacart Decide Who Gets Batches?

As previously mentioned, Instacart has decided to offer batches first to personal shoppers with the highest ratings.

Instacart implements a five-star rating system, and those with lower ratings won’t get as many batches.

Instacart determines the rating based on the average rating of the last 100 batches that a personal shopper completes.

With every order past the most recent 100 batches, the rating system starts a new cycle.

Can You Accept Multiple Batches at Once?

It is possible to shop for multiple batches at the same time.

These are called double batches.

You can also choose triple or even quintuple batches to shop for.

Essentially, a double batch is two full-service shopping orders added together into one shopping trip.

In this case, you’ll be shopping for both orders at the same store during the same time.

Then, you’ll need to deliver the correct orders to each buyer separately.

What Is the Highest-Paid Instacart Batch?

The highest-paid Instacart batches are the ones with the largest number of items to purchase.

You will also need to pick an order that comes with a good tip if you’re looking for the highest paid batch.

You can also make more money by picking batches with stores located closer to your residence.

This will reduce your delivery times and give you more chances to quickly pick up another available batch.

Related: How much does Instacart pay?

How to Get More Batches on Instacart

There are several strategies you can take to get more batches on Instacart, such as:

• Boosting your ratings
• Increasing your order volume
• Choosing busy days to work
• Driving to stores where Instacart is commonly used
• Asking Instacart support staff for advice

We delve further into each of these strategies below.

Improve Your Ratings

You will want to have 4-star and 5-star ratings from your customers to get more batches and higher Instacart earnings.

If your ratings have dipped, make sure to be very efficient, pick good quality food items, and remain professional and friendly around your next Instacart customer.

Try to deliver the food quickly as well.

This way, your ratings should improve, and you should gain more batches on Instacart.

Improve Your Order Volume

You may be seeing a low customer order volume on your Instacart account.

This means there is a lack of customers in your area.

You should check out the heat map on your Instacart Shopper mobile app to improve your order volume.

The heat map shows the areas in your region where more batches are available.

In particular, it shows stores that have more orders.

If you drive by these stores, you may get more batches available for yourself since Instacart factors in your location when offering orders.

Only Work on Instacart During Busy Days

If you want extra cash and a higher number of batches, working on the busiest shopping days will help.

Usually, people don’t have time to think about groceries during the workweek and leave it off until the weekend.

You may want to choose Saturdays and Sundays as the best days to work, as more people are likely to need groceries during these days.

Drive Close to Local Stores That Use Instacart

Since Instacart considers your location when assigning orders, you will want to be close to your local grocery stores.

You might think it’s comfier to hang out at home, but you could be losing out on business.

Using the Instacart heat map, you can figure out which grocery stores are most popular on the platform.

Then, park your car in the parking lots of your local grocery store and watch those batches come in.

Contact Support and Ask

Last but not least, you can always contact the support staff at Instacart and ask for their advice regarding how to get more batches on Instacart.

You never know.

The staff here may provide you with some amazing tips.

Creative Solution: Instacart Batch Grabber

Another creative way to get more batches on Instacart is to utilize an innovative mobile app known as InstaMan, a batch grabber platform for Instacart.

You’ll be able to catch more batches through this mobile app.

However, be careful with the type of batch grabber apps you use.

Your contract generally states that you cannot manipulate the Instacart software, including the Instacart Shopper app.

Troubleshooting: Common Instacart Batch Problems

One common batch problem on Instacart may include seeing orders within a much larger mileage area than the zone you can work in.

Many personal shoppers have also seen a lack of batches available on the platform as a whole, which has lasted throughout their entire shift.

Below, we outline some of the potential reasons for this and how to troubleshoot the problem.

Why Am I Not Getting Any Batches on Instacart?

There are multiple reasons why you might not be getting any batches on the Instacart platform, such as:

• Low personal shopper rating
• Low order volume
• High competition from other Instacart full-service shoppers
• Your location is too far from any grocery stores
• You have not accepted enough batches before or quickly enough

You Have a Low Instacart Shopper Rating

Instacart picks shoppers with the highest ratings when offering batches.

If the ones with the highest ratings pass on the batches, then those with four or fewer stars will gain the chance to pick up those orders.

Yet, if you improve your ratings by increasing delivery speed, picking quality produce, and maintaining a friendly demeanor with Instacart customers, you should get more batches.

You Have a Low Instacart Order Volume

If you have a reduced Instacart order volume, there are probably very few customers in your area seeking personal grocery shoppers.

As previously mentioned, check your heat map to determine what areas have the most orders.

Then park your car near the grocery stores seeing the most batches.

Other Shoppers Are Taking Them

Another reason you may not see any batches in your Instacart account is that other full-service shoppers take them ahead of you.

The competition in your area may be too large.

The absolute best way to beat out other shoppers is to gain the highest possible ratings.

This means you’ll be one of the first shoppers to receive a batch.

Be sure to accept the batch as quickly as possible.

You Are Too Far Away from Other Stores

Furthermore, you may not be seeing any batches come in because you are located far away from grocery stores, especially popular ones seeing the most batches.

As such, you’ll likely need to leave your home and park your car in a lot near a grocery store that commonly receives Instacart orders.

Before you know it, you’ll see more batches showing up in your account.

You’re Not Accepting Batches Fast Enough

Another problem that may lead to no new batches in your account is not accepting batches quickly enough.

How fast you accept batches will factor in when Instacart assigns future orders.

You will have four minutes in total to accept a batch when it first shows up.

If you move too slowly or don’t have your phone on you when the notification comes in, the time might expire, and you won’t be able to claim that batch.

Why Are My Batches So Far Away?

As previously mentioned, you may see batches being offered that are too far away from your location.

You might not see any batches available in your zone.

When this happens, you should try troubleshooting the problem by turning on the airplane mode for about one minute.

Then, turn off the airplane mode.

Now, refresh your Instacart app.

This should fix the issue, and the app should now begin tracking your location correctly.

Instacart Slowing Down in 2021

Instacart has seen a sales slowdown in 2021.

The company has replaced its CEO in an attempt to fix the issue.

Yet, the slowdown may have to do with more people becoming vaccinated from COVID-19 and becoming less alarmed about shopping for groceries on their own.

Wrapping Up

This guide has provided you with the steps you need to take to increase the number of batches you have on the Instacart platform.

By following this guidance, you will gain extra cash as a gig worker and continue benefiting from setting up your own schedule and being your own boss.