INDIANAPOLIS — As more people stay home, the demand for grocery delivery services like Instacart and Shipt are at an all-time high. In order to keep up with the demand, many of those companies are looking to hire new shoppers.
If you've tried to use the services of a grocery delivery service lately, you may have noticed a longer-than-usual wait time.
Whether its for convenience or because of health concerns, more and more people are relying on grocery delivery services. A representative for Instacart said order volume is up 150 percent and their app has seven times more new daily downloads than normal. So now the service is looking to hire.
Shoppers are able to pick their own hours and even pick which order requests to fill.
"You can look through and see how big the order is, what the payment is, what the tip is and all of that and then you select it and go to the store," Micha Huber said.
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Huber is a local Instacart shopper.
"I do it as a supplement to my full-time job on the weekends and some mornings but it's an easy process and it is not a hard job to do," Huber said.
It's a great option for anyone who is healthy and looking for work, Huber said.
"You don't really have to set hours they can send you notifications when there are batches available and you just look at them and if you want to take it you go," Huber said.
A spokesperson for Instacart declined an interview, however, they told RTV6 they plan to hire 300,000 new shoppers nationwide to keep up with demand. The company said 50,000 new shoppers started last week.
Instacart is also implementing new safety measures. Beginning next week, Instacart will offer free "health and safety kits" for employees that will include masks, hand sanitizer and a thermometer.
Huber said the job helps pay the bills while allowing her to help others.
"I've had some really awesome customers recently ever since this pandemic started that have left enormous tips that are really appreciated," Huber said.
In order to work for Instacart, you must be at least 18 years old, have reliable transportation and access to a smartphone.
