I tip my Amazon Fresh delivery $5-$10 depending on the size of the order. It's automatically added in at the time of purchase but you can adjust it. I have never actually seen my delivery people as they leave the bags at the door.

I don't know if the people who deliver are the same as the people who pack it all up.

I get my deliveries from Fry's food, and I normally only get 5-10 items. Plus it’s a little less then two miles away. I tip them around $3. The order is typically $20-25.

I know this post is a few weeks old but I wanted to respond as I've been using instacart for a few months. Due to a vision issue, I no longer drive. I have instacart deliver a variety of groceries every week or two. My choices are limited here-- Wegman's or CVS. However, I do uber to other grocery stores/farmer's market or pick up a ride from a friend.

It annoys me that Wegman's increases the price of delivery items and doesn't honor in-store sales or coupons. That said, I've had nothing but great experiences with the instacart shoppers. I generally tip 15-20% over the delivery charge and fees. More if it is in bad weather or a heavy order.

Yes, it is expensive-- but so is ubering to the store. It's the cost of my current lifestyle. I also pay more to have dry cleaning picked up and to uber to/from work.

Funkyart I too no longer drive because of a vision issue. I ended up tipping $22 because it was a smallish order although over $100, two medium boxes, I'd probably increase that to 20% next time when I have a bigger order.

Oh wow that's very generous. I'm sure they will remember you!

Those people are very important to me. And remember it is not only the delivery, they actually pick out the groceries, box them up and then deliver them.

I've never understood why some people experience what seems to be a guilt trip or feel an empathy storm overwhelm them when dealing with some service providers.

$5 for a simple grocery delivery to the house is adequate. Piano or furniture delivery, different story. If you think the workers should be better paid, give your business to companies that pay better.

$5 for a simple grocery delivery to the house is adequate

That may be, but as I posted, Instacart is not a simple delivery. The shopper actually picks out the food, and if you want will call to discuss substitutions if the store is out of what one wants. A large order can require time and judgment on the part of the shopper.

Walmart offers a grocery pickup program. If I were to send the apartment concierge for a pick up $5 for a smaller order, $10 for a large would be adequate because that would be a simple delivery.

This brings up a point I've wondered about. People who use the grocery pickup, especially Walmart, do they tip these people? From what I've seen on Youtube, nobody does. Made me wonder.

Lucille, I didn’t know that. I thought they just delivered it. Well, now I will probably increase the tip to $5-6.

Cynic I did offer a tip to the Walmart person the first time I used the grocery pickup and she refused, saying that Walmart does not permit tips for this service.

"The shopper actually picks out the food, and if you want will call to discuss substitutions if the store is out of what one wants"

Do what works for you, of course, but to me, this is what they're paid for. I don't directly tip the mechanic who does the periodic service on my car, or the retail clerk at the checkstand, nor the person at the meat counter who picks out and, sometimes cuts what I want, etc. They're paid to do their jobs, that's not my responsibility. A tip (excluding underpaid servers in restaurants) is an extra thank you, not a wage.

When I had to use Peapod (a delivery service associated with some grocery stores) due to a broken ankle, I tipped between 5 and 7 dollars each time they came by. I was simply grateful I didn't do one of those "Blue Apron" things where they would just leave the stuff at your garage door (which I could not access) but came up personally to deliver. (You have to sign off... a good thing in my mind... as a temporary "shut in", it was essential so I could get my food...) Whether it was a $30 delivery or a $80 one, the guy had to do the same amount of work, and I know he didn't assemble the stuff in the delivery, so there was no reason to base my tip on the cost of the food.

I figure if I tip the pizza delivery guy (a bit less than this one), I can surely tip this guy! These people kept me sane during a bad time.

***EDIT BELOW***

I seriously doubt that in any of the situations I'm reading above, that the delivery person is the actual shopper. The person who shops the stuff for you will not get a wooden nickel of the tip. (The pizza delivery guy doesn't make pizzas, either...)

Artemis, if you will actually look at the Instacart/Costco arrangement you will see that most of the time the delivery people ARE the shoppers.

I've used Walmart's pick up service twice now. It says on their website, no tips only smiles. Both times I've had the same girl bring out my order. I doubt she picks it though because she wouldn't have time. But whoever does it, they've done a beautiful job with the produce. Very pleased so far.

Instacart deliveries are both shopped and delivered by your shopper-- you have access to them (via the app) the entire time.

When I have used in-store pickup, it was limited so I can't speak about it -- but I will say that it is different. It's a store service provided by store employees. Instacart is a service provided by a third party in conjunction with the store. I'd be happy to use a store service if it were offered. It's not in my area.

Lucille, I meant to say earlier that I am sorry you are dealing with this as well. It's been a big hit to my way of life but I have found that by planning my errands I am doing pretty well with uber. I do have friends and family I could ask for assistance but I HATE asking.. and honestly, a lot of times, I just don't like doing things like shopping or errand runs with a buddy. I do take advantage of their generosity when going out socially... it's enough that they will go out of their ways to pick me up and drop me off.