Amazon Vs. Instacart: Which Grocery Store Delivery Is Better? | TODAY

Amazon recently announced it will deliver your groceries from Whole Foods for free in two hours in select cities, with plans to expand the offering. Instacart, however, already offers a similar service. NBC’s investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen tried out both Amazon and Instacart to see which one is better.

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Amazon Vs. Instacart: Which Grocery Store Delivery Is Better? | TODAY

[soroushchabavi]

its all depends on the driver, not the company

[Shay-when]

Amazon is only Whole foods Instacart is most of your local stores like Safeway, QFC, Costco and more.

[dogbonetv]

first time i used instacart when the store didnt have something i wanted they called to let me know and asked if i wanted a replacement before delivery. used instacart a few weeks ago, they forgot about 5 -6 things, never contacted me before delivery to let me know, but did not charge me for them. so it depends on how responsible your delivery person is.

[dianel]

Have used both and Instacart won my business! Deliveries are quicker, can place my order right before I leave office and typically delivered by time I get home. Notify of substitutes so I can approve before purchase made. Instacart is with my local grocers so supporting neighborhood businesses. Service charge is very small and worth the convenience. BTW, have been a few times Amazon didn't use the insulated bags or cold packs.

[JOHNcv]

My first grocery order on Amazon was not correct and something was also missing But they refund the money. It's easy to make a mistake and i believe that they are working very hard.
They are really good in solving any issues we might have. :)

[ELBarbarro]

Now instacart upcharges on all products so you pay more than if you’d bought them at grocery store directly

[marcwar]

I've always used Instacart. Thinking about starting to use Amazon Fresh for my business. I shop ALOT at Costco and noticed when I Instacart things from there, every item is marked up $1-$2 per item. So even though they give me free delivery, they're still charging more for the items. By the time I'm done ordering, I've spent an additional $20-$25 on the markups! Just checked Amazon and a bit disappointed that they don't offer Fresh as a part of their Prime Membership. That's not cool. I'll probably continue using Instacart since I'm used to it.

[deborahneuharth]

I live in the middle of the country and we don’t get to have this option ! It would be so nice if you’re sick or working so much and don’t want to take the time to go shopping. Or what if you’re just old and it’s so hard to go grocery shopping by yourself ! Love it !

[eazzii_m]

This was cool. I have a question though if someone would help me out. Both services require a yearly subscription. Is Amazon's subscription included in Amazon Prime? If it is included, Amazon wins and there's no question about it. You already get Prime 2-day shipping and Prime Video included in Amazon Prime. If the Whole Foods delivery service is included as well, we have a clear winner.

[marygallagher]

At this time, the 10% service fee from InstaCart is OPTIONAL. Click on the green Edit button and waive the fee.

[tedperry]

missing items don't bother me too much. Instacart always credits your acct. And I usually place 3 orders a week from 3 different grocery stores, so I'll just get it another day. If it's something that I needed really bad. They'll send another shopper for just that 1 missing item at no cost to me

[GloriaW]

I have ordered Fry's Food / Instacart online delivery approximately 3 to 4 times in Phoenix, Arizona for my elderly mother. I would order online more often but the website and mobile app is not user friendly. It shows an item but not the full description or price unless you click on the item. But if I click on the item and try to go back to where I left off it will take me all the way to the top of the list and I have to scroll back down to find where I left off. The coupons should be listed right next to each item and give you an option to click on it. Going through all the coupons is so times consuming; searching for items I need is alreasy too consuming! My phone is slow and sometimes freezes up. Also, last time I ordered items for delivery some items automatically were listed under pickup. I didn't realize it and when I purchased my items for delivery. I noticed I didn't get 2 of my items. When I went back online to check as to why, I noticed they were listed under pickup. Why would Frys Food make ordering online more stressful?! Furthermore when my groceries were delivered from Instacart, I received a soggy tomato and avocado and a visibly rotten white onion, and my mini bell peppers that are suppose to be yellow, red and orange were actually green and grey. I would love to help make their online ordering more user friendly. I don't think I will be ordering online from Frys Foods or Instacart if this doesn't get corrected. I am a full time caregiver for my elderly mother who cannot medically leave the house or be left alone. Therefore I cannot leave the house either. I don't have all the groceries I need to make dinner tonight. Hence, I paid $10.00 delivery free and $4.00 tip; I cannot get a discount on either. My $5.00 refund for the rotten food will take 7 business days. I pretty much paid Frys Food and Instacart $14.00 to make my day more stressful.

[clbdyc]

Amazon flex drivers are delivering your whole foods groceries. They are contract employees. Like uber and lyft drivers. And just like some people drive for both Uber and lyft some do both instacart and flex.

[Souloy]

As an Instacart shopper I'll give you some responses to these things. As Adam said, Instacart does not let you checkout unless all of the items have been scanned. This means the avocados were either refunded or replaced with another item. As a shopper you have a delivery time you need to meet, but all shoppers shop at a different speed. My average is around 40-50 seconds per item in-and-out of the store. The Service fee is currently at 5% mandatory with a tip of 5% added automatically but can be changed. The service fee helps to pay for the delivery fee for the driver which ranges from $3-ish dollars up to $8 depending on the zone and day. Please always tip. You are using a premium service and it deserves a tip, even if it is only the low 5% tip. When you factor in the price of transportation associated with working, you will often make less than minimum wage without a tip, especially on slow days. If you have any questions you can ask.

[samoreal]

I entered the Whole Food Market / Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC with the intent of purchasing bath soap. I was carrying a reusable grocery bag containing two items I had just purchased from CVS.

Without touching Whole Foods merchandise, I visually determined that this location was sold out of the brand of soap that I wanted therefore I proceeded to the exit.

Before reaching the exit, I was stopped by Troy a Whole Foods Associate who informed me that I could not put Whole Foods merchandise into my bag without first paying for it. Further, he stated that there’s a sign had been posted near the entrance.

I also noticed that the store security officer had moved from the entrance and positioned himself at the top of the stairway used to exit from the lower level of the store.

I am concerned as to why Troy needed to remind me of a store policy that I had not remotely violated as I had not so much as touched Whole Foods merchandise and why a security officer was placed on “stand-by”.

Is Whole Foods / Foggy Bottom profiling, everyone, with a reusable bag as a thief. Or, do I fit a particular profile? On 11/19/2020, I reached out to Greg, Assistant Store Manager as well as the Whole Foods Customer Complaints (via phone) and asked for follow up on the following questions:

1. What prompted Troy to think that I had or was about to put Whole Foods' merchandise into my bag?
2. Did a manager or security officer task Troy with instructing me to use a shopping cart rather than my reusable bag, if so who and why?
3. Prior to 11/18/2020, was it Whole Foods’ policy to task their Associates with approaching every customer and remind them to use a shopping cart rather than their reusable bag? If not, what criteria were used to determine that I needed to be reminded of the aforementioned policy?

[samoreal]

WHOLE FOODS PROFILES - CHAPTER II

THE RESPONSE: A Whole Foods Rep reached out with the generic “I am sorry that you had a bad experience at the Foggy Bottom location.”.

However, she seemed vague and confused as to why CRIMINAL PROFILING IS NOT OK.

When asked about the Security Office being called on me, she fibbed and insinuated that security was making his rounds and just happened to be standing at the top of the EXIT ONLY stairs.

The security guard is stationed at the front entrance of the store adjacent to the stairs leading DOWN to the lower level. If he truly was making his rounds (due to the layout of the store) it would have made better sense for him to:
1. Take the stairs to the lower level
2. Walk the lower level
3. Take the stairs to the upper level
4. Walk the upper level
5. Return to his position

So, the Whole Foods Rep either: neglected to view the security footage and (to protect Whole Foods) assumed that Security was making his rounds or viewed the security footage and lied to protect Whole Foods.

I find this attempt to placate to be amateurish and insulting.

WHOLE FOODS – DO BETTER

[LivingFree]

I also had a great experience with Amazon Fresh. Free shipping over $35. I got my cold stuff in the same Wholefoods insulated silver bag. I noticed many Wholefood items are also on Amazon Fresh and visa versa. I don't see a tip spot for Amazon Fresh so not sure if they just use Amazon delivery drivers? It was delivered in same way as instacart or Wholefoods except I have not seen insulated bags with my instacart orders yet...but I'm new to this...so we shall see :)

[nowzthetime]

Another big difference is I shop the order and deliver it with instacart

[christopherkilian]

Shopper/delivery person needs to communicate with Insta cart customer!!

[iammeg]

lol instacart always refunds you immediately so no you didn't pay for something you didn't get....