So normally I shop Walmart’s grocery delivery, but today I decided to do something different. Today I decided to shop at Aldi for groceries today to attempt to save some money. So I’m going to share with you guys my experience of doing some online grocery shopping on Aldi’s website as well as share with you all my experience of using Instacart delivery and having an Instacart shopper for the first time!
Aldi delivery review – My 1st time using Instacart Delivery | Review
Since Aldi uses Instacart, I decided to sign up for Instacart. They offered me a same day free delivery which I loved. I decided to opt in for getting the delivery within 2 hours which is completely different from Walmart where you may need to wait a day or more for grocery delivery.
Item availability
I noticed that Aldi didn’t have certain things I was interested in like they didn’t have specific seasoning mixes for lemon pepper chicken or anything like that. They also didn’t have many tomato sauce options either. They didn’t have a variety of sliced cheese options. I personally enjoy eating provolone or swiss on burgers and sandwiches, but they didn’t have that available. However they did have specialty cheeses that I could try, but I wasn’t interested in them. I feel like shopping in person at Aldi maybe better for specific things or it’s possible that some items may have been sold out or not even available at Aldi in general.
Instacart Checkout Experience
After, I added all of the items I wanted to the cart… I proceeded to checkout. I put in all of my information and I was set for delivery.
The Instacart Purchase
I was charged for the items in my order, a service fee, a bottle charge for the pop I wanted, and I had my delivery tip on there as well.
The Instacart temporary charge
Before I made my purchase, I had realized that Instacart shared that they will hold your order for a higher amount. This is just to make any adjustments for if certain items are out of stock and they have to give you a more pricier item or for if you add more items to your cart. I noticed that the amount was maybe $35 more than what I had purchased in my cart so this is just something to be aware of when using Instacart delivery. If you don’t have enough money in your account to cover your charge, you can simply take out stuff from your cart to lower the charge. I experimented with this out of curiousity and the more items you take out of your cart, the more the temporary charge on Instacart declines if this a concern.
Keep in mind that whatever money you don’t use towards your purchase, it will be returned to your bank account. So if your temporary charge is $35 more and none of your items are replaced with a pricer item or you don’t add anything else to your cart, you should receive your $35 back within a few days where it shows how much Instacart actually charged to your account for your grocery purchase. I just wanted to clarify this in case any of you were concerned about this.
I added more items to my Instacart
I ended up adding some pork chops to my Instacart order which was easy to do. I just clicked to add more items, searched for ‘pork chops’, and chose the ones I wanted to add to my order.
I appreciated the communication interface
So one of the things I absolutely love about Instacart is how I can communicate with the Instacart shopper. If something is out of stock, they’d let me know. For example the alfredo sauce was out of stock and they sent me a picture of what was available (which was nothing). I was easily able to tell them it was okay and they refunded me for that purchase since it was out of stock.
The Aldi delivery
It took maybe 30 minutes after receiveing the text that order had been completed that my delivery was on the way. I ended up having the person place the groceries in boxes for me. My delivery person was also really nice and she knew that it was my first time using Instacart too. I’m assuming the app shares if it is a first time user. I appreciated that she shared how she made sure she didn’t pack the bags ridiculously full to make it easier on not only her, but on me as well.
How to change tip on Instacart
I originally had tipped her $6 because I thought instacart paid the delivery person a fee and they also received tips, but then I realized that she was the one doing the shopping as well as packing along with the delivery. So I changed my tip when giving my Instacart shopper her rating to $13 instead. I think that’s the only way you’re able to actually change the tip amount on Instacart. Honestly next time I’ll tip higher because depending on how much you buy, you should tip more. Plus we’re in a pandemic so I’ll make sure to have money set aside to tip more kindly.
Getting an Instacart refund
The person who picked everything had picked some awful tomatoes.. like they were going bad.
I went ahead and reported the issue I had so that I could potentially receive a refund. They offered the option of receiving the refund to the Instacart account or to receive the refund to my card. I decided to go with my card. Within 2 hours I received a refund of $2.19 for the tomatoes I had purchased.
My overall Instacart review and Aldi Delivery review
Is it worth it to grocery shop on Aldi for Instacart delivery?
I definitely think it is. You can stay home and do all of your online grocery shopping from home without having to life a finger. The only concern I’d have is whether the Instacart shopper would pick decent produce, but other than that… I feel like it’s a great way to get your groceries delivered and grocery shop online!
What do you guys think about grocery shopping on Instacart?
Let me know your thoughts on trying the Instacart delivery option or whether you’ve tried it by leaving a comment down below!
oh my, those tomatoes look very bad indeed. I wouldn’t be happy with those either 😮
It looks like a fairly stress free way to shop. I am so picky about produce so that would cause me anxiety but the refund is helpful. Wish I lived close enough to an Aldi to try out this service.
Thank you for an in-depth review of Instacart! I wasn’t aware of many features that they offer!
Ugh I wish Instacart was offered in my town, I would totally use it for Aldi!
That’s super convenient that Aldi delivers! So glad you’ve made use of it.
Awesomely detailed, great review that helps to make my decision when and if I am to use instacart.
True, the tipping should be generous, especially during these times when people take jobs like these deliveries.
I’ve never heard about Instacart Delivery but it sounds convenient their features are really great I’m glad to read this today nice review.
I’ve had this issue as well. I never thought to report it for a refund. I’m glad you shared this.
Instacart sounds like a great service to avail and it’s great that you were refunded for those bad tomatoes. We order online nowadays as well and it’s very convinient.