I have been searching for a while now trying to find a side-hustle that I could pick up. I wanted to find something that would allow me the flexibility to work when I wanted to, would be somewhat enjoyable, and one that would pay a decent amount.
For a while, I thought about doing either Uber or Lyft, but those two require you to go in to do an in-person interview. When starting out for either Uber or Lyft, they also have to inspect your car, and with having a full-time job, I don?t really have time during the day to go to an office to do all of this. Lastly, it can put a good amount of mileage on your car as well.
These are the reasons why I never chose these options.
There is the option of delivering for Postmates or UberEats, but I honestly just didn?t see the value in that. I mean, how much could you really make delivering food from restaurants to people?
After a long and extensive time searching, I think I finally found my match. I found a side-hustle that is not only incredibly flexible, not only is it enjoyable (at least for me), but it also pays incredibly well.
Let me introduce you to Shipt.
What is Shipt?
Shipt is a delivery service that is owned by Target. Essentially, it?s the same concept as Instacart, but in my opinion, it?s better.
A customer will place a grocery order through the app, select a time one-hour time frame in which they want the order to be delivered, and Shipt will send that order out to shoppers to shop for the order and deliver it to the customer.
Now, in order to make it worth your while, customers usually place orders around the $100 mark or higher.
Being A Shipt Shopper
So, how does it work as a Shipt Shopper?
It?s actually pretty easy. You open up the app, select the area that you are located in, choose which order you want to accept, and then you shop for the order.
Shipt will give you a shirt to wear so that store employees know to help you when you are standing there awkwardly looking around, and they also send you a company debit card to use so that you are not spending any money out of pocket.
When it comes to shopping, all of the information is right there in the app? even where the grocery item is located. If a store is out of something, you can text the customer directly through the Shipt app and ask them if there is anything else that they might want instead.
Once you are done paying for the order using the Shipt debit card, you deliver the order to the customer?s house. After doing so, you mark the order as delivered and can then immediately get back at it again.
Making Money as a Shipt Shopper
Alright, now the time has come to answer the question of how much money you can make as a Shipt Shopper. The short answer is that it varies on a few factors. The first being the size of the order.
Generally, for a $100 order, you can expect to profit $11. That is before the second factor, which is tips. You get to keep all of the tips that you make with Shipt. After delivering their groceries, customers have the option of tipping the shopper, much like you would see on Uber or Lyft.
The third option comes through promos and referrals. Every day there are promos for shoppers to complete orders. The majority of the ones that I have seen can make you an extra $15 per order. You can only accept promos though once you have completed 10 orders and moved out of the beginner stage.
When it comes to referrals, you get an additional $50 for each person who becomes a Shipt Shopper using your referral link. Once they complete 10 orders, funds will be added to your Shipt account.
PS: If you want to get started, feel free to use my referral code here. Yes, I will get a $50 bonus once you complete 10 orders. The referral code is D5A705. Once you complete 10 orders, you too can get an extra $50.
So let me tell you about my first four orders so far and tell you how much I have made. Now mind you that each order takes approximately one hour to complete. That includes starting to shop for the order and the delivery.
First Delivery
The first order I completed was on a Saturday night. I went to a local grocery store that I go to almost every day anyhow, so I was able to manage my way through in 40 minutes. After driving 10 minutes to deliver the order, I marked the order as delivered and immediately saw $12.04 added to my Shipt account. What?s crazy is that the next day, I woke up and saw that the customer had given me a $16 tip.
Second Delivery
The second order was even better. I ended up accepting a Target order close to my house. My sister had to go to Target anyway, so I offered to drive as long as I could do a delivery.
Target ended up being out of a lot of items so I had to text the customer quite often. I apologized for all of the inconvenience, but she said she understood.
As I checked out, I was also given a $10 gift card for spending more than $50. I immediately wrote a thank you note to the customer thanking her for giving me the opportunity to shop for her, and I stuffed the gift card inside the note.
An hour after I delivered the order and was given a $13 commission for delivering the order, I also noticed that the customer gave me a tip? a $25 tip. Yes, I made $38 for delivering one order.
Third Order
The third order was another one where the store was close to my house. The only downside of the delivery is that it was about 8 miles away.
After spending 40 minutes shopping and driving for 10 minutes, I arrived at a nice condominium complex. I carried the groceries up to the sixth floor and dropped them off.
For this order, I got a $12 commission. I haven?t received a tip yet, and who knows if I will. 7 out of 10 Shipt customers will leave a tip for the shopper and they can do so for up to seven days. If they don?t leave a tip, it?s not too big of a deal.
Fourth Order
The fourth order was one that I took simply because the house looked nice and I wanted to see it. And I was right.
After shopping for 45 minutes, I drive 11 miles to drop the order off. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw one of the most beautiful homes that I had ever seen.
I texted the customer to let her know that I was there and I helped carry her groceries into the house. For this one, I got about a $13 commission, and after looking back at the order a day later, I noticed that she also left a $17 tip.
Final Thoughts
After 4 orders (remember, this is about 4 to five hours of work), I have made a total of $110.55. If you do the math, that?s averaging out to be $27.63 per order.
Now, you also have to take into consideration gas and wear and tear on your car, but I think I may have driven a total of 50 miles between these four orders. And if you don?t want to deliver to a place far away, you don?t have to. You get to pick which orders you want to accept.
Overall, Shipt has been a really good side-hustle to pick up. I was nervous during my first order as I didn?t know what to really expect, but after doing four orders, I will admit that I actually think it?s fun. Plus, it makes good money.
Again, if you want to become a Shipt Shopper, I will include my referral code (D5A705). It?s up to you if you want to use it or not, but after completing my first few orders, I know it?s a side-hustle that I am going to continually be doing.
Michael Bonnell
