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Are you interested in making extra money shopping for groceries? If so, you’re in luck. You can work as a Shipt shopper and make extra cash picking up groceries and delivering them to customers.
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What is Shipt & How Does Shipt Work?
Shipt is an online grocery delivery service that originated in Birmingham, Alabama in November 2014. It was later acquired by Target in December 2017.
Shipt provides same day grocery pickup and delivery service for their customers. Shipt customers are people like you and me who either aren’t able to pick up their own groceries easily (disabled, elderly, no car, etc.) or would rather spend a little extra for the time and convenience (busy moms or dads, people who work all of the time, etc.).
The way Shipt works is a customer signs up for a paid membership, creates a list of groceries, they confirm and submit the order, and a Shipt shopper receives the order and fulfills the request.
How Does Shipt Make Money and How Much Does it Cost?
The way Shipt makes money is they charge an annual (currently $99) or monthly fee (currently $14) for a membership which includes unlimited deliveries. They charge a delivery fee on smaller orders and alcohol orders. Orders over $35 don’t have a delivery fee. They also make money from a small up-charge on the items you order.
Shipt Locations
Their locations are constantly evolving. You can find the current available locations here.
Shipt Reviews
When doing research on Shipt, I noticed that they had a great Better Business Bureau score of A+ but a terrible TrustPilot score of 2.9/10.
Common Complaints
Many of the complaints on TrustPilot included bad customer service from their Shipt shoppers, not being able to easily cancel Shipt, or not being hired as a Shipt Shopper.
I cover it below, but if you do become a Shipt shopper please keep in mind that a large portion of your potential income is tips. Customer service is paramount in making the most of your Shipt side income.
Customer Service
You can reach customer service at [email protected] or (205) 502-2500. They claim to be available 24/7, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
How to Cancel Shipt
Like all good retention programs, it is not as easy to cancel Shipt as it is to sign up. In order to cancel Shipt, you simply need to contact customer service at [email protected] or (205) 502-2500 and tell them you’d like to cancel.
Shipt Shopper Faq
Someone has to pick up the groceries and deliver them to the customers. Why not you? You can become a Shipt shopper and start getting paid extra cash to pick up and deliver groceries.
What is a Shipt Shopper?
A Shipt shopper is an independent contractor for Shipt and are the individuals that pick up and deliver groceries to their customers.
Shipt shoppers set their own hours on the app, so as long as there are enough orders, you can be a part-time or full-time. You can set your hours on the app up to a week in advance, but as late as same day.
As an independent contractor, Shipt shoppers don’t receive benefits (aside from a free Shipt membership) and are responsible for filing their own taxes.
How do Shipt Shoppers Get Paid
Shipt shoppers are paid per order. When you accept an order, it will have an estimated pay based off of the estimated time to complete. On average, an order takes about 1 hour to complete. In addition to what Shipt pays their shoppers per order, you also have the option to receive tips. Payouts occur every Friday.
How Much do Shipt Shoppers Make?
Each order can pay up to $22, but it’s more likely that the order will be $15 – $25. Once you add in tips, it’s realistic to make in the neighborhood of $25/hour just shopping for groceries.
Shipt Shopper Reviews
Shipt has a 4.0 out of 5.0 rating on Glassdoor overall, but a 3.2 out of 5.0 rating from their shoppers. Like most large companies, the reviews tend to vary by location, so do some research before signing up, so you know what to expect in your area. For more information, you can visit the Shipt shopper reviews page on Glassdoor here.
How to Maximize Your Pay as a Shipt Shopper
Offer Great Customer Service
As I mentioned before, some of the top bad ratings on Trustpilot were related to customer service provided by shoppers. Since the tip is a large portion of your order income, you should be highly motivated to provide excellent customer service
Text your customers to introduce yourself and ask if they have any additional items to add to the order. This makes the experience more human for the customer.
If you look for an item and can’t find it, you may need to reach out and see if they would like a substitution item. The best way to do this is to take pictures of the substitute and send to the customer for review and approval.
Shop like you would for your own family. Don’t purchase produce that’s subpar or any groceries that have damaged packaging.
Greet you customers when you are dropping off the groceries and offer to bring them inside.
Schedule Work on Sundays and Mondays
Think about it. When do most working people get their groceries? I know in my case, we typically buy our groceries for the week on the weekend. If you’re a parent, Sunday might be the only weekend day that isn’t loaded with kid’s activities.
Fulfill Multiple Orders at Once
If you live in an area with more orders than shoppers, you may want to consider fulfilling multiple orders at once. I wouldn’t recommend doing this until you have the process down and feel comfortable doing it.
Also, keep in mind that customer service is key. If doing multiple orders is going to affect your ability to deliver great customer service, don’t do it.
Perform Other Driving Side Hustles
Depending on where you live, being a Shipt driver may be enough to generate the extra income you’re looking for. If not, you should consider other options like driving with Uber and Lyft or delivering food with services like UberEats and DoorDash. Honestly, you should consider them anyways because on any given day, one may have more work and payout more than another.
A good example of this is on holidays like St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll most likely make more as an Uber or Lyft driver on St. Patrick’s Day (because of bars) than you would delivering food or groceries.
Track Your Miles
Because Shipt shoppers are independent contractors, it is important to take advantage of as many tax deductions as possible. The miles you drive for Shipt are tax deductible and can be used to reduce your taxable earnings.
Shipt Shopper Challenges
Shipt shoppers are responsible for their own gas money and vehicle maintenance costs. Shipt doesn’t pay anything towards mileage or vehicle maintenance at this time.
When looking at orders, you only see the price of an order. You don’t see the list until after accepting an order. This could mean trouble if you accept an order that is very heavy/bulky or if there are items you aren’t familiar with and will take more time to pick up. You can always reach out to the customer if you don’t know, but it would be better to know what you’re getting into before accepting an order.
Delivery can mean driving for long distances and periods of time and facing severe weather conditions. Ultimately, you have control over your schedule and some control over how far you’ll drive, but you can still end up driving longer than you’d like in conditions that aren’t ideal.
How to Become a Shipt Shopper and Make Extra Money
Shipt Shopper Requirements
You must meet the following requirements to be considered for a Shipt Shopper position:
- At least 18 years of age.
- Valid U.S. driver’s license and auto insurance.
- A reliable vehicle, 1997 or newer.
- Knowledge of produce selection.
- Insulated cooler bags.
- Ability to life 40 pounds.
- iPhone (iOS 10 or newer) or Android (5.1 or newer) smartphone.
Shipt Shopper Hiring Process
If you meet the requirements and are interested in working as a Shipt shopper to make extra money, you can submit your application online today. After you apply, you’ll be required to complete a video interview.
Once you’re approved, you can download the app, and get started making extra cash as a Shipt shopper.
What is your experience with Shipt? Are you a Shipt shopper? Do you have any tips or tricks?
Interested in other ways to make extra money? Check out 50+ Legitimate Ways to Make Extra Money!