Instacart No Batches? How To Get More Batches on Instacart
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One of the most common complaints among shoppers is Instacart no batches. If you’re a shopper, you may be familiar with the frustration of logging in to work only to find no batches.
Unfortunately, this is common with most gig apps like Instacart, as there’s no guarantee that there will always be work for you. So why are there no Instacart batches? And what can you do about it?
In this guide, I’ll cover some of the top reasons you may not be seeing Instacart batches, as well as Instacart shopper tips and tricks you can use to get more batches and make more money.
I’ll also share a few Instacart alternatives if you’re looking for other driving apps to make money. Let’s get to it!
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Why You’re Not Getting Batches on Instacart
Before we look at some of the reasons you may not be getting Instacart batches, it’s necessary to understand how Instacart assigns orders.
The main factors Instacart considers when assigning batches are the shoppers’ ratings, location, and the volume of orders.
With that in mind, here are some of the top reasons you’re not seeing Instacart batches:
1. Your Location Is Far From Grocery Stores
One of the main reasons you may not be seeing Instacart batches is you’re located far from grocery stores, especially popular ones that get many orders.
When Instacart assigns batches, location is one of the factors considered, so chances are higher that the batch will go to shoppers closer to the store.
Even if you see batches from your location, you would be late picking up and delivering the items, so it’s better to be closer to popular stores.
Most Instacart shoppers park their cars near grocery stores that receive the most orders, significantly improving their chances of getting batches.
You can use the heat map on the Instacart app to find the busiest areas in your zone. Try waiting around these areas to see if you’ll get more batches.
2. Your Shopper Rating Is Low
Instacart has a Shopper rating system where customers rate their experience with the shopper out of five stars.
This shopper rating covers different aspects of shopping and delivery, including order accuracy, speed, and the customer’s overall experience. Your Shopper rating is an average of your last 100 batches.
When assigning batches, Instacart considers shopper ratings. Shoppers with higher ratings get priority access, so grabbing the orders is easier.
If the shoppers with higher ratings pass on the batches, they fall to those with lower ratings. As such, the higher your ratings, the higher the chances you’ll get many Instacart batches.
If you’re having trouble getting Instacart batches, check your shopper rating. You can improve your ratings by following customer requests, communicating with them, and delivering promptly.
3. Shopper Competition Is High
Another reason for Instacart no batches could also be due to competition. Jobs like Instacart are very popular for their earning potential and flexibility, so it’s no surprise there are so many shoppers.
Some cities have more shoppers than others, so there could be high competition in your area.
Even if the customer order volume is high, there won’t be enough orders if too many shoppers are in a zone. Instacart tries to balance the number of shoppers with the demand in an area, using strategies like the Instacart waitlist.
Still, Instacart must always have more shoppers than the order volume to cater to the demand. In such cases, the best way to beat the competition is to improve your shopper rating to get priority access.
You should also research the best time to do Instacart in your area to see if it helps you get more batches.
4. There Is a Low Order Volume
Sometimes the reason there are no Instacart batches has nothing to do with Instacart shoppers. Order volumes could be so low that there aren’t enough batches.
Perhaps there are very few Instacart customers in your area looking for shopping services, so there isn’t much you can do.
You can try different areas to see if it improves the number of Instacart batches you get.
As mentioned earlier, you can use Instacart’s heat map to find busier areas near you. Parking near the stores with the most batches increases the chances of being assigned batches.
For people living in major cities, finding Instacart hot spots with more orders shouldn’t be hard. If you live in a small or medium-sized town, it may be more challenging to find busy Instacart areas.
5. You’re Not Accepting the Orders Fast Enough
Your speed is another factor determining the number of Instacart batches you get.
Instacart gives you a total of four minutes to accept a batch. At this time, you should check the details of the batch, like the number of items, the distance to be covered, and the pay.
Since you only get four minutes to decide whether the batch is worth it or not, it’s important to be quick because other shoppers are competing for the same batches.
Once you’ve accepted an Instacart batch, you have one hour to start shopping. Instacart sends you reminders if you don’t appear to be heading towards the store.
If you haven’t started shopping in an hour, the batch is assigned to someone else.
You should have your phone on you, so you’re ready to accept batches as soon as they’re available.
6. You’re a New Shopper
As a new Instacart shopper, you may notice you have access to fewer batches. This is partly because your scope is narrower, and you haven’t qualified for special batches.
Additionally, as a new shopper, you’re still working on your Instacart rating, so shoppers with higher ratings in your area get priority access to batches.
You can increase your chances by taking steps to deliver special batches, including prescriptions, bulk batch delivery, and alcohol delivery.
You’ll have access to more batches once approved for every order type.
7. Instacart May Be Down
Sometimes the Instacart no batches problem is due to technical difficulties with the Instacart app itself.
Instacart could be down for various reasons, including server issues and outages due to bad weather.
If you suspect that Instacart may be down, you can confirm by checking online through services like Downdetector. You can also check Instacart’s page on Reddit to see if other shoppers are experiencing the problem.
App outage is rarely ever the reason for no batches. If there’s a problem with the app, you’ll get an error message, or you may be unable to log into the app completely.
If you’re using the app normally and can access its features, you may be experiencing other reasons for the lack of batches, like Instacart being slow.
How To Get More Batches on Instacart
Now that you know the main causes for the Instacart no batches problem, you can take steps to improve the number of batches you get assigned.
Here are some tips and tricks to get more Instacart batches and maximize your earnings with the app.
1. Consider Waiting Near Hotspots
Since location is one of the factors considered when assigning Instacart batches, you can improve your chances by strategically positioning yourself at or near Instacart hotspots.
One of the benefits of working for gig apps like Instacart is flexibility. It may be great to accept batch orders from your couch, but it’s more advantageous to be near popular stores to get to work as soon as you get an order.
You can find the busiest areas near you by looking at the Instacart heat map. The hotspots are typically areas with popular grocery stores and many orders.
While waiting near hotspots does not guarantee you’ll get batches, it significantly increases your chances, so you should try it.
2. Improve Your Shopper Rating
Shopper rating is another key factor determining how Instacart assigns batches, so improving your rating improves your chances of getting orders.
Try your best to keep your shopper rating at or above 4.7 out of 5 stars to give yourself a competitive edge.
So how do you improve your rating? Here are a few tips:
- Be quick with your deliveries
- Deliver the batches exactly as ordered
- Communicate with the customer for updates, questions, or clarification
- Interact with the customers professionally and politely
- Arrange the items properly to give the customer an easy time unloading
- Go the extra mile, like offering to carry the items inside
3. Choose the Best Times to Work
This might seem obvious, but working during peak days and hours significantly increases your chances of getting more Instacart batches.
According to most Instacart shoppers, the busiest shopping days are Sunday and Monday, so you can try logging in to work then.
At these peak times, more customers are ordering groceries, so there are more batches for shoppers.
Customer demand is a major determiner of peak shopping times, so you must keep this in mind.
While most areas report Sundays as the busiest shopping day, it could be different in your area. Take time to do a little research about customer demand in your location to determine peak shopping times.
4. Unlock the Diamond Cart for Priority Access
As mentioned, priority access is usually given to shoppers with the highest rating.
Instacart has a Cart Star Rewards program to incentivize shoppers. Under the program, shoppers with a rating of 4.7 stars or higher get extra perks.
The Cart Star Rewards program has different tiers, and the perks vary based on your level in the program. The levels are:
- Gold Cart
- Platinum Cart
- Diamond Cart
As a member of the rewards program, you’d enjoy benefits like:
- Priority access to batches
- Discounts on oil changes
- Cashback for gas
With priority access, you’ll see batches before they’re made available to other shoppers, giving you a competitive advantage.
5. Get Approved for Special Batches
Instacart has different order types, and getting approved for each one widens your scope so you can accept more batches.
Special batch types are prescription deliveries, alcohol deliveries, bulk batch deliveries, and cooler bag deliveries.
So how do you get approved to deliver these special batches?
- Complete Instacart’s Alcohol Certification Course
Before you can start making alcohol deliveries, you must complete the alcohol certification course.
This is a training program that Instacart shoppers need to take to be certified in handling and delivering alcohol orders. The course is available on the Instacart shopper app, and you can complete it in one sitting.
You must be 21 years or older to deliver alcohol as an Instacart shopper.
- Complete the Prescription Delivery Certification Course
Just like alcohol, you need special certification to handle and deliver prescription products.
Instacart works with companies like CVS so customers can have their prescriptions delivered, so this is another way to increase your batches.
Instacart has a short course that you must complete before you’re approved to make prescription deliveries.
Unlocking this special order type gives you access to more batches, so it’s one of the simplest ways to increase the number of batches you get.
- Ensure Your Cooler Bags are Approved
As an Instacart shopper, an insulated food delivery bag is a must-have since some of the items you’ll be delivering are temperature-sensitive.
If you own cooler bags, you should get them approved by Instacart as soon as possible. The approval process is simple, just like the alcohol and prescription certification courses.
All you need to do is tap the food safety sign in the Instacart shopper app and go through the cooler bag verification process.
The process involves taking a photo of your bags to prove they’re insulated and giving some information about them.
With your cooler bags approved, you can access more Instacart batches.
6. Accept Double Batches When Possible
Taking double-batch orders is a genius way to complete more batches in less time and maximize your earnings. With double batch orders, you complete two separate orders simultaneously at the same store.
While double batches don’t necessarily pay double, they pay more than single batches, and you get to complete two orders at once, freeing you up to accept more batches.
For Instacart to assign you double batches, you must have completed at least 60 deliveries on the app.
If you’re going to take double batches, you have to be extra careful to keep the orders separate so you don’t mess them up.
7. Consider Instacart Batch Grabbers
Most Instacart shoppers complain that Instacart batches disappear quickly before they can accept them.
If this is the reason you’re getting a few Instacart batches, you may want to consider Instacart batch grabbers.
Instacart batch grabbers work simply; you download and connect the app to the Instacart shopper app. The grabber then refreshes the Instacart app automatically, looking for new batches. The bot then automatically claims any available batches.
Grabbers are much faster than humans since they automatically refresh and claim the batches. Using one gives you a significant advantage over other shoppers.
If you’re considering batch grabbers, you should also know that using them puts your account at risk of deactivation, so proceed with caution.
8. Contact Instacart Support for Help
If you have been seeing few to no Instacart batches for a while, contact Instacart support. They may help you with troubleshooting and provide insights into why you’re not getting batches.
While they may not be able to help you get more batches, they may help you understand why the batches are few, and there’s no harm in asking.
Still Not Getting Instacart Batches? Here’s What To Do
Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, you still can’t get enough Instacart batches. If this is the case, you should consider other jobs like Instacart.
Here are some of the top jobs similar to Instacart you should consider:
- DoorDash: As North America’s leading food delivery app, this is one of the best gigs where you make money delivering meals within your city.
- Uber Eats: This is a food delivery platform under the rideshare platform Uber. You can sign up for Uber Eats to deliver fast food and restaurant meals to customers in your city.
- Amazon Flex: You can also sign up to work for Amazon as an independent contractor, delivering packages to Amazon customers.
- GoShare: An on-demand moving and delivery platform where you get paid to help individuals and businesses move heavy items.
- Roadie: For people with large trucks or cargo vans, Roadie is the perfect app if you’d like to make money helping people move. You must be 21 or older to sign up for the platform.
- Grubhub: Another food delivery platform you can sign up for to deliver restaurant meals to customers in our area.
- Walmart Spark: A delivery driver app that works like Instacart. You can sign up to shop and deliver orders with Walmart Spark. You can make $15 to $20 per delivery with the platform.
Tips From Other Instacart Shoppers
Whenever you’re facing challenges with Instacart, it’s important to remember you’re not alone.
You can always seek advice from Instacart shoppers who have faced the problem before. They could have tips that help you overcome the challenge.
Here are some tips from Instacart shoppers on Reddit:
- Suhayla323 says: “Wake up at 5 or 6 am when all the stores first open. That’s when I see all the best batches. Then once you start off with one order, they usually start flowing consistently. I noticed I never see any batches if I start afternoon or in the evening.”
- Missy90210 says: “Try different times of the day. Sometimes it’s busier after a certain time, and usually plenty of orders in the later afternoon when most shoppers go home.”
- Instajsh says: “Make sure you are in a decent area for order, like in my area the Publix stores get the most orders, so you can try that.”
- GwennaDey says: “If you have the ability to, do multiple delivery services. Before my pregnancy, I was doing Uber and Instacart. When I had no Instacart orders worth doing or any shown up, I’d open Uber and wait.”
These are all valuable tips from Instacart shoppers that you can try to increase the number of Instacart batches you get.
Most shoppers agree that strategically positioning yourself near popular stores and improving your shopper rating significantly impact the batches you get.
Some shoppers also talk about shopping on busy days at peak hours. It’s important to be part of the Instacart shopper community to get support from fellow shoppers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does Instacart Say No Batches Available?
If you’re seeing the “No Batches/Orders Available” message, it could be because there are no customer orders in your area or you’re too far from stores.
Ensure the Instacart app has access to your location and position yourself closer to stores.
How Does Instacart Decide Who Sees Batches?
Instacart mainly uses shopper ratings to determine who sees and gets batches. The shopper rating is based on the last 100 orders completed. Shoppers with a rating of 4.7 to 5 stars get priority access to batches.
Location is another key factor that determines batch assignments.
Does Instacart Punish You for Not Accepting Batches?
No. Instacart does not penalize shoppers for not accepting batches. As an independent contractor, you determine what batches to take and how much you want to work.
As such, you should only accept batches that are right for you. Consider factors like pay, order type, and distance when choosing your batches.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you now have the answer to the Instacart no batches question. Getting no batches can be frustrating, but now you know what to do.
Instacart uses an algorithm for batch assignment, and the most important factor is shopper rating. As such, you should always be working to improve your customer rating to increase the number of batches you get.
Sometimes the factors behind Instacart no batches are beyond your control, such as low order volume. In this case, consider other jobs like DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Amazon Flex.
Looking for even more money-making ideas? Check out:
