Horrible $8.03 No Tip Instacart Order Breakdown
Let’s break this $8.03 no tip Instacart order down into average numbers so we can look at the real data behind this terrible offer. For all my breakdowns, these are absolutely the best-case scenarios. We are assuming you are already sitting in the store parking lot, the store isn’t crowded, you hit every green light, and the drop-off goes perfectly smoothly.
The Real-World Labor & Transit Math Of This $8.03 No Tip Instacart Order
First, let’s look at the time investment required to complete this order. The customer ordered 28 items. Even if you are a lightning-fast shopper averaging a clean 1 item per minute, that means you are spending 28 minutes just pacing the aisles and checking out.
Next, we look at the distance. The delivery itself is 10.6 miles from the store. But as independent contractors, we have to look at the big picture. Unless you want to sit stranded out in the middle of nowhere, you have to drive back to your zone to get another offer. That means the round trip is a total of 21.2 miles. Driving 21 miles at an average speed of 60 mph means you will spend 21 minutes sitting behind the wheel.
When you add your 28 minutes of shopping time to your 21 minutes of travel time, it takes a total of 49 minutes to complete this entire order from start to finish.
Crunching the Net Profit
Now let’s subtract the real expense of operating your vehicle to find out what goes into your pocket. If you are driving a highly fuel-efficient vehicle that averages an incredible 50 MPG, you are going to burn through roughly $1.70 in fuel to cover that 21.2-mile round trip based on $4.00 per gallon of fuel.
When we take the $8.03 gross payout from Instacart and subtract our $1.70 fuel expense, your actual net profit drops to $6.33.
The SAD Hourly Rate
To find out what your time is truly worth on this offer, we divide that $6.33 net profit by the 49 minutes of total labor it took to do the work. It comes out to just under 13 cents per minute.
We multiply 13 cents by 60 minutes to calculate our true hourly earnings. When it is all said and done, this $8.03 no tip Instacart order pays an absolute poverty wage of just $7.80 per hour.
Once you factor in the wear and tear on your vehicle, tires, oil changes, and taxes, you are practically volunteering to deliver this customer’s groceries for free. This order is the definition of a diary entry that is officially DECLINED.