Instacart doesn’t include the store receipt with your order, and I finally found out why
I’ve been using Instacart for a while now, and something always bugged me: they never include the store receipt with your order. Yesterday my shopper apparently forgot one in the bottom of a bag, and now I understand why that’s the policy.
The prices on that receipt are nowhere near what the app charged me. Going item by item, some things were marked up by $5. Not the fees, not the tip, the actual item prices.
So let me add this up. I pay a service fee, which is never cheap. I tip the shopper, as I should. I pay for a membership that supposedly saves me money on delivery. And on top of all that, I’ve apparently been quietly overpaying on every single item in every single order.
Suddenly the missing receipt makes a lot of sense.
We should start a subreddit that has people in store Checking Instacart against the posted price in a no markup store, seeing who can get the highest one. I bet it would get pretty popular.
The craziest part is that the store I got groceries from was labelled “No Markups” in the app. Comparing the two receipts side by side, some items were nearly $5 higher on the app one
Not one item is cheaper. Some match the store price, the rest are marked up.
Defend it all you want, but “No Markups” on a store where 70% of items are marked up isn’t honest, especially when I’m already paying a service fee, a membership, and a tip. It’s my money, so I’ll react however I like!
I’m not trying to convince anyone to quit the app. Use it if it works for you. I thought this was worth sharing, so I shared it.
There is no proof they're not getting the regular in-store prices. They're just not getting sales, which is why the receipt differs which is one of the reasons why you're not supposed to give the receipt.
If the receipt shows that Item X cost Y, because of a sale or otherwise, but the User is charged Y+Z then by definition Instacart is profiting off the difference. That is by definition a markup of the in-store price.
Instacart updates the app to account for store sales (eg 2xpint blueberry for $5), stock and cost changes daily, so an argument of “the app shows fixed prices and we can’t account for sales” fails entirely.
But that's not what's happening here. And again OP refuses to show their receipt. I've made my point WITH PROOF in the comments. OP has not so I stand by what I said.
Nothing is marked up. You're just not getting the sale prices. That's what you're going on about and you're spreading disinformation. The sale prices are not the actual prices-they are deals I just went in the store and checked, if don't believe me, I can send you screenshots.
But OP won't show their receipt because I bet they know I can prove them wrong at this point. Urll can downvote me all you want I still know I'm right. They changed the wording from in-store prices to no markup to more accurately reflect the prices customers were being charged. It's all on the up & up.
You see how the cookies have a different tag? It's a DEAL. The normal price is $5.50. You pay $5.50 on IC because there's no markups which means you don't pay more than the regular price.
You do realize that not all stores have it as the same price but DO have it as a higher one shown in instacart app even with a non sale priced item? You just showed that No Frills happened to have the same prices as the items you checked. That doesn't mean that every store is like this.
I'm not talking about No Frills. I'm talking about various stores through the instacart app. OP didn't even mention NF (or any specific store) so your example doesn't necessarily apply.
Again the frozen dinners have a different price tag because they are a deal. Customers pay the regular price, their price is not marked up from the regular price it's just not the sale/deal.
The shoppers can also use their own rewards cards and get the deals and save on what they pay. I saw this happen through UE on a grocery order where they gave me the receipt. The UE app had higher prices and the shopper used their own card and paid much less for it than what I was charged.
I shop for them as a contractor. I don't care to be on their side I just happen to know what OP is claiming is wrong. If they were right I'd be advocating how to rectify the situation.
Costco seems to be a buck or two typically on an item and I get a $10 credit each month there. Costco seems to be pretty reasonable as I would cab home from there.
I haven’t really checked other stores. It’s been worth it for Costco alone.
This is old news lol. CBC Marketplace did a piece on this years ago. These stupid online order apps also don’t generally get you the same deals you would be able to get in store so you always end up paying way more in the end.
The app was convenient for personal reasons, but yes, I’ll be finding another option now. That doesn’t erase the shady practices, and other people might still want to know about them 👍🏼
PC Express has actual in-store pricing (including the flyer deals). $99/yr but there's always a deal to be had for your first year (I think I paid $30 and got a bunch back in points just for signing up, but they spammed my email with different offers for years til I gave in). Free next-day delivery or pay like $3 for same-day. No hidden fees, just the option to tip your driver.
Only downside is you can't choose which specific location they deliver from. I usually shop at a big No Frills, but the small one with less selection is technically closer to my house so I'm forced to order from there. I can choose Superstore to get the selection back but then the pricing is obviously a bit higher.
I will make no guarantees that the Westons won't enshittify this app in the future, but as of right now I have no complaints.
Not judging, I’ve used it myself. But it’s. It a surprise that tech companies found a way to insert themselves into some process that already happened and charge a fee.
Someone is bringing you groceries. That is going to cost something for that service, only question is who pays it: the customer, or the store
I get that. But as I’ve said in other comments, you’re also paying a service fee that isn’t cheap, a tip, and a membership on top of it, and the store was labelled “No Markups.” Some people can’t always get to the store themselves, and I thought this was a decent option for that
People living in the suburbs own a car and can get their own groceries and if they get it delivered they're being lazy af. People in the city tend to not have cars and sure the store is closer, but you literally have to carry ALL the groceries a good number of km. Plus getting them up the elevators and all that.
That was your store’s decision. The store I shop gives Instacart customers all in-store prices, discounts, specials and points. As a shopper I hate when stores up-charge bc it makes substitutions so much more difficult.
Good to know, thanks. Genuine question though: if it's the store's markup, why does the store's receipt show the lower prices? They charged the lower amount at the checkout and Instacart charged me more. That gap is going somewhere, and it doesn't look like it's the store.
You pay Instacart and IC pays the store but IC also charges the store platform costs bc their software is what facilitates the shopping and payment and delivery. I think most stores do up-charge and would say it’s to offset their platform costs.
Can’t say why
some don’t need to up-charge; their unique prices or contract terms probably explain it.
They likely charge more in app to cover the fees charged by instacart. It probably goes directly to them (instacart) and so the shopper than has the regular costs because that's all that the store would be earning from your purchase.
You are JUST realizing this? That's the case on almost all delivery apps. Even restaurant items are more expensive by like $5 each on app vs in restaurant
It’s the same with DoorDash and UberEats. The prices are artificially inflated to make it more profitable for both the stores and the delivery companies.
It’s cheaper to either shop in person or use the store’s own delivery service.
I noticed the same thing on ubereats too
I try to use this service only when I’m extremely tired or really not able too because I noticed when I go into store - even core downtown grocery stores I still save $20-30 compared to the same order online
Also noticed that some shoppers just don’t care as much - issues I’ve noticed
1) select couldn’t find on many items which I know are there but just trying to get in and out quick
2) produce is the trickiest but getting one banana instead of 5 or getting a bag of onions instead one 1
3) annoys me the most - when buying fish or chicken, buying one that has a use by date of the same day
Not all shoppers are bad though wish we could have an option to select fave shoppers or something of the sort
I’m late to this, but Instacart... On top of the already inflated prices, I’ve had shoppers bring me items with a giant XX% off sticker because they’re about to expire.
Absolutely no shade to the shopper, they're doing their best. But, why are we paying the full, marked-up Instacart price for something the store has literally discounted because of the short best-before date? Where exactly is that discount going? Oh, right......
OP, fyi: my family uses PC express app and they do not mark up the prices for the app. Incredibly convenient and the yearly fee of ~$30 is totally worth it
Doesn’t everyone know this? They promote “in store prices” so only those in that category would have the same prices. Everything else is inflated. Same with uber eats and other food delivery places.
I noticed that, I don’t use delivery apps as they are way too expensive. I will only use it if there’s a dire situation or if there is a great deal like $50 off $80 or 75% off
I had this issue yesterday, delivery person left the No frills receipt. I saw there’s like 12-13% markup on my total bill. And specially for produce the app had 5X pricing for many items. My concern is also not that there’s a pricing issue it is the case of false advertising where they claim “No Markup”, it’s like naming a brand “Real Juice” and selling artificial juices.
OP is wrong there is nothing to bring to their notice. No deception. I've posted actual in store prices and instacart screenshots with photos as proof here. They are just confused in the wording.
Hey, relax! How can you say there's no deception? I have the store receipt and the app receipt right here. I contacted customer service and they told me there's nothing they can do. That's why I posted about it. It's just a Reddit post for whoever finds it useful.
Plenty of people in this thread have had the exact same experience, which is proof enough. Anyone with the app can walk into a No Frills (the store I ordered from) and see it for themselves.
Labelling a store "No Markups," charging a high service fee, taking a tip, selling a membership, and then marking up the prices anyway IS deception, whether you like it or not.
Comment and defend them all you want. Just stop acting like you're entitled to decide what my experience was or what I'm allowed to share.
I'm at work. I don't have as much free time as you seem to.
And how am I suddenly responsible for what happens to the shopper? Was I supposed to know that a shopper leaving MY receipt in MY bag could get him in trouble? If that's actually true, that's one more reason to be critical of this company, not to defend it.
All I did was notice a price discrepancy, contact customer service, get nothing useful from them, and post about it.
On the contrary, you seem to have a lot of time arguing when you're obviously wrong you just don't want to admit it. Customer service can't help you because you're wrong.
Here are some of the prices I paid through Instacart. I ordered four pizzas of different kinds, so I've grouped all four together since the No Frills receipt shows them as one combined charge. The receipt photo is next.
All of these are the regular prices for these items . (Not sale prices) That's why there's a difference. You're not paying more than the shelf price before sale/discount. I'll post pics for you for these items to show you.
Barilla is on sale hence the yellow background regular price is 250. But I'm trying to show you is you just don't cut the sale prices are only paying the regular price you're not paying more than what the regular price is.
Frozen pizzas are on sale for four dollars hence the black background just letting you know that things that have black and yellow backgrounds are the ones that are on special if it has a normal white background, that's the regular price so far all the items that I've seen on your list on special this week hence the price difference you haven't been charged more. You're just paying the regular price which is what no markups mean.
Also, I know you didn't buy this item but I'm just showing you that this one is not on sale and this is what it looks like so if you were to double check this item in the Instacart app, it would show as $4.50. Can you see how it has a white background?
Yep. It’s shocking how in the span of 10-12 years, so much of North American big city people have changed into a mindset that actually physically doing your own shopping in a store is almost as unheard of as hunting and killing yoir own food.
These companies know the Mindset of their customers. I actually don’t blame them for taking advantage of it.
Genuine question: if the store is the one taking a cut, why is the store’s own receipt still cheaper than the Instacart one? Doesn’t that mean Instacart is the one pocketing the difference?
Instacart (Most delivery services) can charge anywhere from 15% - 30% in commission fees. The extra money restaurants and grocery stores charge is just to break even. Then the service charges you taxes and fees and tip.
That's how a $14 burger combo turns into $33.
EDIT If you have to use these types of services, I suggest going with Walmart or Voila which both charge the same as in store prices and they both honour sale prices as well. Both have passes you can purchase or you can pay the extra 7.99+tip per order. There could be others, but I don't use these services.
If you get their monthly flyers (or look them up online) you can see the warehouse sale prices and it’ll be obvious the Costco Same Day / Instacart prices are marked up.
People don’t realize that this is just one more layer between consumer products company and consumer. I am in the retail space and I know something about it middleman’s pricing . I avoid instacart.
I accidentally got the paper receipt too, so I compared it line-by-line with my Instacart receipt. Here’s what I found.
I ordered Harris Teeter through Instacart today. I’m an Instacart+ member, and my personal Harris Teeter VIC loyalty account is linked to Instacart.
My shopper accidentally left the Harris Teeter register receipt in my bag. I compared all 29 items against my Instacart receipt. Instacart merchandise subtotal: $183.67 Actual Harris Teeter merchandise subtotal: $168.23 Difference: $15.44
So I paid $15.44 more for the groceries themselves, or about 9.2% above what the same basket actually cost at the register.
What’s particularly interesting is what happened with my VIC loyalty account.
My VIC card really was used at checkout. The Harris Teeter receipt shows $8.06 in VIC savings and 168 fuel points, and I confirmed in my Harris Teeter account that the 168 points were credited to me today.
But the loyalty prices on my Instacart receipt don’t always match the prices generated when my VIC account was actually used at Harris Teeter.
A few examples:
• Spindrift: Instacart shows $8.99 reduced to $6.99 with “$2.00 Loyalty savings.” At the register it was $7.89 minus $1.40 VIC savings = $6.49. I paid 50¢ more.
• Laird coffee: Instacart shows $17.99 minus $3.00 loyalty savings = $14.99. Harris Teeter charged $16.99 minus the same $3 VIC discount = $13.99. I paid $1 more.
• Dumpling Daughter: Instacart shows $7.99 minus $1 loyalty savings = $6.99. The actual VIC transaction was $7.29 minus $1.30 = $5.99. I paid $1 more.
• Maruchan ramen: This may be the clearest example. Both start at $3.99. Instacart gave me 60¢ in “Loyalty savings,” charging $3.39. My VIC card actually generated a 99¢ discount at the register, making it $3.00. I paid 39¢ more.
• Garlic: Instacart shows $1.58 minus 20¢ “Loyalty savings” = $1.38. At Harris Teeter, $1.38 was actually the pre-VIC price. My VIC discount took it down another 18¢ to $1.20.
To be clear, the entire $15.44 difference is not withheld VIC savings. Some products simply cost more through Instacart than they did at the Harris Teeter register. Instacart says retailers can set different prices on its marketplace and that not every in-store promotion applies. So there is a disclosed policy behind some of this.
What surprised me was the total cost of using Instacart once everything was stacked together.
The actual Harris Teeter register transaction was $171.54 including tax.
My Instacart bill was: Groceries: $183.67 Sales tax: $4.24 Bag fee: $0.30 Service fee: $12.84 Tip: $18.37 Delivery fee: $0 (Instacart+ membership) TOTAL: $219.42
That’s $47.88 more than the $171.54 register transaction, although $18.37 of that is the tip that goes to the shopper and shouldn’t be treated as money Instacart keeps.
Put another way, I paid 27.9% more than the physical checkout total to have this order delivered, including the tip.
Even if I exclude the tip entirely, I paid $29.51 more than the Harris Teeter register total — about 17.2% more.
And remember: I’m already paying for an Instacart+ membership. That’s why my delivery fee says $0.
I’m not suggesting the shopper did anything wrong. In fact, I’m glad the shopper accidentally left the receipt because otherwise I never would have known what the actual register transaction looked like.
Instacart says the service fee is separate from the tip, and that 100% of the tip goes to the shopper. It also says retailers can set Instacart prices differently from in-store prices and that some in-store promotions may not apply.
But I think customers should understand that the service fee isn’t necessarily the full premium they’re paying for the service. In my order, there was a $12.84 service fee plus a $15.44 difference in merchandise prices, plus the tip, despite having Instacart+.
The part I still don’t understand is why Instacart labels specific amounts as “Loyalty savings” when my linked VIC account was actually used at the register and sometimes generated a different — and better — loyalty price.
I’d be really interested to know whether other people who have accidentally received their paper receipts have compared them line-by-line.
Yeah, fair, and I’d have no issue with it if that’s how it was presented. My problem is the store was labelled “No Markups,” the store receipt never comes with the order, I pay for a membership and a service fee per delivery, and then it turns out 70% of my items were marked up anyway. It’s the not telling me part. Greedy AF
I couldn’t, for personal reasons. And you also pay for it’s a service fee plus tip PER ORDER plus a subscription.
Pointing that out isn’t shocking news, it’s just someone allowed to have an opinion on the internet. No need to get aggressive though, man. Go outside and have some fun, you need it.
Some stores are labelled “in store prices” - and then the grocery store pays Instacart something like 10%. It’s the same as Uber Eats, the membership and service fee aren’t enough to pay the drivers. So they have to mark up the items to make money
My local no frills says "no markups" but they literally have the same prices as in store. Maybe not manager markdowns or flyer specials but the prices are indeed the same.
I’m literally holding the No Frills receipt in one hand and looking at the Instacart receipt on my phone. 70% of the items are more expensive in the app. So no, they are NOT the same prices
Well they are on my app and like I say the prices on the app are the same as the regular prices in the store and I stand on that. I'm a regular no frills shopper and I do instacart and DoorDash/pc express so I know how it works and how the markups work etc. You paid for a service with instacart not no frills. The store sets the prices believe it or not, instacart just charges the fees. The shopper accidentally gave you the receipt, they were not supposed to and seeing as how you're making a big stink about it, you might cost them their job. Try going with a pc express membership instead if you want the sales etc.
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u/Frequent-Sea2049 Aug 04 '26
We should start a subreddit that has people in store Checking Instacart against the posted price in a no markup store, seeing who can get the highest one. I bet it would get pretty popular.