Are you a person who enjoys being at supermarkets or local grocery stores? If you visit these places regularly and love to shop, you will get excited to know this hobby of yours can be a splendid opportunity to earn some extra money. By being a personal grocery shopper, you can exactly do that.
Grocery delivery was always there but now has grown even popular, considering the current pandemic of the COVID virus. People are getting more and more cautious and avoid crowded places.
So, if you are considering the option to become a personal grocery shopper, there is no better time to start.
Grocery shopper jobs are an excellent way to make extra money in your free time. The good thing is, these jobs require no special skills or experience.
Each day, several new businesses are popping up that will hire you to shop for groceries and deliver them to customers.
Luckily, over some time, the grocery delivery business has evolved. As a personal grocery shopper, you no longer need to go to a full-time 9-to-5 job delivery job for a specific company.
You can take delivery assignments whenever you wish, as per your schedule. You can do it in your free time or only on weekends.
There is no commitment to work for a single company, but you can serve several at one time. You can even set up your own business providing services of personal grocery shopper.
Keeping this in mind, I thought of putting up this article. After some research, I have come with the list of best companies to work as a personal grocery shopper.
Most of these companies rely almost entirely on smartphone apps that act as an interface to connect their customers with their delivery shopper. That makes it very easy to complete your delivery assignments.
Later in the post, I will also peek into the details of how to start your own grocery delivery business.
Why Would People Need A Personal Grocery Shopper?
Many of us may think, why would anybody hire a personal grocery shopper when it means an additional cost. Let me tell you this is not true!
If the additional cost is the concern, the concept of online shopping would never have become so popular. People are happy to shop online, even if it means some additional cost to them.
Grocery shopping works on the same principle. People choose their convenience over money.
There are several reasons folks may want to hire out their grocery shopping.
Busy professionals with crammed daily routines cannot afford to spend hours in the queues.
Parents with newborn babies often feel uncomfortable being away from their kids, only to do grocery shopping.
Many people have no interest in shopping and tend to avoid dealing with crowded places.
People with medical issues find it difficult to shop on their own and cannot make it to stores.
Even for simple comfort, people prefer their groceries get delivered to their door.
So now you see, for many people, shopping for groceries is difficult for one or the other reason. It takes some effort to drive to the store, fill the cart, and then drive back home.
That is the reason people are happy to spend some bucks extra to fulfill their needs of daily or weekly groceries.
How Much Can A Personal Grocery Shopper Earn?
As a grocery shopper, if you provide your services through a company, the amount you earn varies between $25 to $30 per delivery.
Factors like the size of the order and distance your cover to make the delivery decide the final amount.
Besides, you get to keep 100% of the tips earned from the customers.
If you work for local grocery stores, most of them pay an hourly rate between $15 to $25.
In case you decide to set up your own grocery shopping business, you are free to pick your rates.
Before setting your price, you must consider factors like distance from your home to local grocery stores and then the distance from the grocery stores to your customers’ homes and back home again.
You must set such a rate, so it covers expenses on gas, insurance, car wear, and tear, packaging, etc.
Make sure you don’t charge too much, but you want enough to cover your costs and make it worth your time and effort.
I have known some grocery shoppers who charge a percentage on the total grocery bill. So the higher is the bill amount, the more they earn. This percentage varies between 10% to 20%.
According to Glassdoor, the average pay of a personal grocery shopper is around $34,429.
So I believe, as a personal grocery shopper, you don’t get rich but can make a decent living. Don’t forget this is only a gig that you do to earn some extra income in your free time.
Now since you know the basics of grocery shopper jobs, let’s look at some of the best companies that offer personal grocery shopper jobs.
Best Companies To Work As A Personal Grocery Shopper
1- Instacart
Instacart is one of the leading companies providing jobs for personal grocery shoppers.
The company offers a mobile app to its grocery shoppers. The entire process of the delivery goes through your mobile phone.
To work for the company, all you need is to register as a grocery shopper, and after the company’s approval, you can straight away start.
One unique thing that I like the most about Instacart is that it provides you with two options to work.
You can choose between:
Full-Service Shopper
As a full-service shopper, you work as an independent contractor, use your vehicle to pick up and deliver groceries in your preferred areas. The company offers flexible hours, and you are free to decide your convenient hours to work.
In-Store Shopper
As an in-store shopper, you are only responsible for shopping the groceries. Usually, the delivery gets made by some other person. That means you won’t need a vehicle since you don’t deliver.
You work for the company as a part-time employee and are free to decide your hours of availability.
Basic Requirements For Full-Service Shoppers
- Eligible to work in the US
- 18 years old or up
- Must have a vehicle
- 2+ years of driving experience
- Must have a smartphone (iPhone 4s/Android 4.0 or newer)
- Ability to lift 40 lbs, with or without help
The same requirements apply to In-Store Shoppers, except for the vehicle as In-Store Shoppers only shop for orders within a store.
Instacart Shopper gets paid a fixed rate per job. The company claims shoppers can make up to $20 per hour in either role.
They make weekly payments to your bank account or in PayPal.
2- Shipt
Shipt is another major company that provides personal grocery shopper roles.
Shipt’s partners with some of the biggest retailers like Target, Meijer, Western Market, and H-E-B, so be sure you will get plenty of delivery assignments.
To be a personal grocery shopper with Shipt, you need to first register on their website. The selection process goes through in-depth interviews, driving record verification, background checks, and vehicle inspections.
Basic Requirements For Shipt Shoppers
- At least 18 years old
- Access to a reliable vehicle (15 years old or newer)
- Have iPhone (iOS 8 or newer) or Android (4.4.2 or newer)
- Valid U.S. driver’s license and auto insurance
- Pass a thorough background check
- Insulated cooler bag
- Knowledge of produce selection
- Ability to lift 25+ pounds
Once you pass the selection procedure, you are ready to pick the delivery assignments. You can add yourself to the shopping schedule for up to five days in advance.
You can limit your shopping to a particular store in your zone or can choose multiple zones depending upon your convenience.
Shipt also gives its shoppers the option to join their exclusive community. This community is a space for shoppers to share their experiences, tips for success, and get answers to all queries they may have.
The company claims an experienced shopper makes an average of $25 per hour.
They make weekly payments.
3- Postmates
With Postmates, you can deliver anything from groceries, food, liquor, office supplies, dry cleaning, and anything you can imagine.
Either you have a car, bike, or even a bicycle, you are qualified to deliver. Besides, you can even walk to make the delivery. As long as you meet Postmates’ commitment to supply the stuff within one hour, the company is happy to work with you.
Basic Requirements For Postmates Shoppers
- Be 18 years or older
- A car or a bike
- Valid driver’s license
- A smartphone
- Agree to a background check
If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can sign up with Postmates as a contract driver.
There are no commitments for minimum hours, and you can work with your schedule.
The payout is through weekly deposits, and you can earn up to $25 per hour.
4- Burpy
Burpy is an on-demand same-day grocery delivery service that is primarily available in Texas H-E-B and Walmart stores.
The job is a good fit for someone looking for a flexible schedule. You can work part-time or full-time, provided you have excellent customer support and a great driving record.
Basic Requirements For Burpy Shoppers
- Be 18 years or up
- Have a car, a license, and insurance
- Owns a recent smartphone (Android or iPhone)
- Be professional, responsible, and detail-oriented
- Able to lift 30+ lbs
Shoppers make around $25 per hour, plus tips.
The company pays weekly via direct deposit, but you can request an earlier payout at any time.
5- Peapod
Peapod is a grocery delivery chain store having warehouses full of groceries, and they hire people to gather customer orders so that delivery drivers can pick and deliver them.
With Peapod, you won’t have the same flexibility that some other grocery services offer.
You will work in the warehouse, so you won’t be able to set your hours.
Most Peapod personal grocery shoppers are part-time, and the company pays around $10 hourly.
These are the top 5 companies that provide the best opportunities for personal grocery shopper.
If you are interested in more delivery jobs, read this article that lists many other companies that cater not only to the grocery but also things like food, office supplies, medicines, alcohol, etc.
Work With Local Grocery Stores
Many leading grocery stores also offer their in-house delivery services.
Finding these positions is easy through search engines. Just search for “personal shopper jobs,” and you get a list of grocery stores that offer such jobs.
You can also use popular job portals like Indeed or Monster.
Working directly for a store is a great way to become a personal grocery shopper. Most of them will pay you an hourly rate of $20 to $30.
Start Your Business With WeGoShop
WeGoShop
WeGoShop is a great option to choose if you are thinking to take grocery shopping to the business level.
There is an annual fee of around $350 to start a business with the company.
For this annual fee, WeGoShop provides you an email address, voicemail service, business cards, and many other essential things to run your business smoothly.
You get to choose the cities you prefer to work in, and, after one year of working with the company, you can pick more.
There are no royalty payments or hidden fees. There is no profit sharing or fine print.
Once you pay your annual licensing fee, the rate for each following year gets locked and will not increase as long as you renew annually.
You are free to cancel your term and discontinue the service at any time.
Build Your Own Personal Grocery Shopper Business
Starting as a personal grocery shopper for a company gives you the experience and the opportunity to know many local clients. These can be your potential customers when you start your own business.
You don’t even need much investment as long as you have your vehicle.
Setting up a website will need a bit of investment, but that will not be much. An excellent website enables your customers to combine scheduling, listing, and payment, all in one place, making it more convenient for you and them.
On your website, you must set up a grocery checklist where your customers can suggest what they need and where you should buy.
Your prices could range from $30 to $50 per hour if you give excellent services to your clients.
Some Useful Tips For Personal Grocery Shoppers
Though getting started as a grocery shopper is simple, but to make it a fruitful side hustle, you must take care of a few things:
- Always check the minimum age limit to work in your state or zone. If the state policies don’t allow employment before the age of 20 years, it’s useless to hunt for jobs if you are of 18 years.
- You must have up-to-date auto insurance, a reliable vehicle, a valid driver’s license, and a decent driving record. Most of the companies need those.
- Most grocery delivery businesses perform a background check on applicants. Make sure you don’t fake things while applying, or else the chances are you will get rejected.
- Just like any other work from a home side hustle, you work as an independent contractor. So it’s your responsibility to keep track of your income, your expenses, and file your taxes each year.
- Meet the deadlines for your delivery assignments. Failing to do so, you will receive lesser orders. The companies may also cancel your registration.
- Show good customer relationship to your customers. Most companies look for these qualities before you get to their panel. So always greet the customers with a smile and treat them well.
- Get familiar with your area. Some companies promise 1 hour or even less delivery time to their customers. You may not do so if you are not familiar with your zone.
- Shop with care, only pick and deliver quality products that are in good shape
- Create your schedule but be available during busy times (like on weekends) and early and late hours.
Must Read: Jobs For Delivery Drivers Aren’t Hard To Find With These Websites
In Conclusion
If you are smart with your orders, own a car, and meet the age requirements, make timely deliveries, you can make an excellent personal shopper.
The significant thing about becoming a personal shopper is, this side gig is scalable. You can even turn it into a full-blown delivery business.
You can cater not only to the groceries but extend it to other stuff like food, office and school supplies, machinery, diary, medicines, etc. The options are endless.
If you go the right path, I am sure you can build a profitable business.
That’s it from me. Now, it’s your turn to try these personal grocery shopper gigs and share your feedback comments.
If you have questions, please feel free to reach out. I am glad to answer your queries!
Best of luck!
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