Instacart Partners with Loblaws for Grocery Delivery

67
Groceries from Instacart Loblaws
Groceries from Instacart Loblaws

By Lori Bosworth

The lead-up to the holidays can become a juggling act of balancing a whole range of activities including shopping for last minute gifts, baking holiday treats, cleaning the house for company and looking after yourself and your family. If there are ways to save time on these tasks, I will be the first one to try them and that’s why I was excited to learn about Instacart’s new partnership with Loblaws to offer grocery delivery, straight to your home.

Once your place your grocery order online at Instacart, a personal grocery shopper is assigned to fulfill your grocery order. You can have your groceries delivered to your home in as little as two hours. Currently, Instacart’s fee is $7.99, as well as a small service fee.

Torontonicity was invited to try Instacart’s new service by placing an order on their website for grocery delivery from my local Loblaws. I created an account on Instacart and began shopping for my groceries by clicking “Add to Cart” on the items I wanted to buy. There is an option under each item to add instructions for your personal shopper. As well, before you check out, you can indicate what your grocery shopper should do in the event that your product is not in stock, including: 1) Find Best Match; 2) Pick Specific Replacement and 3) Don’t Replace.

I placed my order at 10:40 a.m. for a delivery window of 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. the same day. My order included 16 items such as fresh vegetables, yogourt, juice, Ultimate Kale Chips, frozen shrimp, PC Swedish Meatballs, Balsamic vinegar, and two Happy Planet Soups, one in Butternut Squash and one in Thai Chicken. I received a text message at about 12:30 p.m. advising me that my shopper had begun shopping for my order. I was pleased with the update. At about 1:20 p.m., I received another text message advising me that two of the items I had ordered were not in stock: Ultimate Kale Chips in Cheddar and Happy Planet Soup in Butternut Squash and that I would be refunded the cost of these two items because I had indicated that I did not want my shopper to pick a specific replacement.


I received another text message at 1:30 p.m. advising that my shopper was at the door with my groceries. This was great since it was within the window of time I had requested. I greeted him at the door. He explained that he was sorry that he didn’t get me the Happy Planet Soups, but he had walked all over Loblaws and couldn’t find where they were located. I told him they were in the deli section as they are freshly-made soups. I thanked him and then went to unpack my groceries.

Groceries from Instacart Loblaws
Groceries from Instacart Loblaws

I was pleased that he had purchased mostly everything on my list and I liked the quality of the fresh vegetables including broccoli and organic kale. In place of the Happy Planet Thai Chicken Soup, my shopper had purchased President’s Choice World of Flavours Thai Chicken Ready To Serve Soup, a canned soup.

All in all, I was pleased with my first Instacart order and know that I can add specific instructions for my personal shopper in the event that a product is not in stock.

Our Giveaway of a $75 Gift Card for Instacart / Loblaws Grocery Delivery has closed. Congrats to Christine B.

This contest appears on Contest Canada

67 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t drive and I have a one year old son so I haul my groceries in my stroller. This would simplify my life, lol. Thanks for the chance!

  2. CONVENIENCE IS GREAT PLUS SOMETIMES IM TOO TIRED AFTER RUNNING AROUND TO GO TO THE STORE ITS NICE TO COME HOME ORDER WHAT I WHAT AND ITS DELIVERED TO ME

  3. I’ll spend less because when I go into the store I see things that aren’t on the list and toss it into the cart. If I see broccoli discounted I grab it and then have to buy heavy cream and extra cheese to make a cheddar broc soup, this way I won’t be tempted to spend more. I won’t have to wait forever to find parking or stand in line. And there’s nothing worse then driving all the way into the city only to find that the shelves are empty. (I only go in to shop every 6-8 weeks for groceries)

  4. I love how it would make grocery shopping at Loblaws so much easier, especially when I have to take my 3 & 5 year olds!!

  5. What I like about Instacart / Loblaws’ grocery delivery is the fact that you have the option to pick 1) Find Best Match; 2) Pick Specific Replacement and 3) Don’t Replace.

  6. The mark up on products is outrageous! I had over $30 difference between what I was charged and what it actually cost. My shopper was lovely and left me the bill. She also texted me to say some of my items were on sale – of course I wouldn’t benefit from a penny of it! So with the price difference and the service fee (even with the free delivery for first time users with Loblaws) it cost me over $50 difference!

Comments are closed.