Instacart announced today that it’s launching a new “OrderUp” feature that lets users add items from additional retailers to their original grocery order without having to pay an extra delivery fee. The company says the new feature gives users a way to complete their weekly shopping in one delivery trip, whether they’re looking to purchase alcohol, beauty products, electronics, office supplies or something else.
Starting today, customers will see post-checkout recommendations from nearby retailers with a limited time to add any items from additional retailers to their existing order. If you decide to add items from the additional retailers, the app will create a new order with a separate cart and a waived delivery fee. Instacart told TechCrunch in an email that there’s a $10 minimum if you want to order from an additional retailer.
Image Credits: Instacart
“You can now do more on Instacart while paying less by getting everything you need from your local retailers delivered to your door in as fast as an hour, with only one delivery fee,” the company said in a blog post.
DoorDash introduced a similar feature last year called “DoubleDash” that lets you add items from nearby stores to your original order for no additional delivery fee. Uber Eats, on the other hand, notes on its website that you can’t order from multiple merchants in the same order.
Today’s announcement comes as Instacart recently announced that Electronic Benefits Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) can now be used to buy groceries online in 10 additional states through its app. With this expansion, grocers of all sizes can use Carrot Payments, an Instacart Platform solution, to accept EBT SNAP payments online across 49 states and Washington, D.C.
Instacart also recently launched a new “Cart Star” rewards program for shoppers on its platform. The program offers incentives in three tiers: gold, platinum and diamond. To qualify for Cart Star, shoppers need to accumulate points based on the number of orders they fulfill, earning 10 points per customer order they deliver. The program gives shoppers exclusive early access to orders, access to cash back on gas and more.
