How to Become a Shipt Shopper & Make $200+ this Weekend!

Shipt Shopper Review

Do you want to become a Shipt shopper?

If so, this is the article for you. We will cover everything from how to get started to how you can make the most money!

If you’d rather watch than read, check out our latest video on how you can make the most money with Shipt.

Thanks to technology, people no longer need to shop for their groceries. This is a task most people can do, but it is time-consuming, and some physically can’t, so that’s where you come in. 

Shipt brings the store to their door and uses people like you and me who could use some extra money to help them complete the task.

If you’re looking for more ways to make money, check out our FREE ebook of high-paying money making ideas.

Let’s get right into how to get started and make sure you read until the end as we show you how you can make over $230 in just 3 hours!

To make money with Shipt, you have two options:

• In-store shopper who only fulfills orders in the store and hands them off to a Shipt driver at stores like Target, Meijer, CVS, Kroger, Publix, and Petco
• Full-service shopper fulfills the orders in the store and delivers the groceries to the customer’s home.

In this article, we’ll focus on the full-service shopper because this is how you can make the most money.

How to become a Shipt Shopper

Before you apply, make sure you meet these requirements:

• At least 18 years old.
• Valid current mailing address
• Valid U.S. driver’s license and auto insurance
• A reliable vehicle (1997 or newer)
• Knowledge of produce selection
• Ability to lift 45 pounds
• Smartphone – iPhone (iOS 10 or newer) or Android (5.1 or newer).

If you meet these requirements, then you’ll want to apply here.

How to apply to become a Shipt Shopper

Step 1: Download the Shipt app and enter your information (Name, email address, desired city of operation). You will also give your address to receive your Shipt shirt and prepaid shopping card.

Step 2: Verify you are 18 years and if you are 21 or over for alcohol delivery.

Step 3: Confirm that you have access to a car and license and if your auto insurance covers Shipt services. If not, we have seen where this has added an extra $10-$15 per month to individual insurance, but this will be different for everyone. 

Step 4: If you are a smoker, you must agree not to smoke during a shift.

Step 5: Sign the paperwork and agree to a background check. It could take up to 10 days for the background check, but it’s usually quicker than that. 

Step 6: If you pass, you will receive your payment card, lanyard, and a Shipt shirt. Once you receive all your stuff, they’ll let you know when you can start. 

Now let’s talk about what you really want to know…

How much do Shipt Shoppers Make?

MANY factors play a part in how much money you can earn like if you live in a well-populated area, you’ll have access to more orders, which means you can make more money. 

Also, the number of hours you work and the types of orders you receive all matter. For example, you earn more for orders with heavy loads, so if you had cases of water in your order, you would make more. 

It’s hard to say how much you can make per hour, but you can make $300+ on the weekend after putting in about 6 hours, but that strongly depends on where you live, the types of orders you pick, if you choose a promo order and many other things. On average, shoppers can earn anywhere from $15 to $20 an hour.

You get 100% of the customer’s tip on top of what you get paid from Shipt for each order. You’d be amazed at how much people tip- take the time to do a great job, and communicate with the customer, and it will pay off!  

Continue down as we show you how one of our Shipt shoppers earned $230 in 3 hours but let’s first get you acclimated with the app.

How to use the Shipt App to get started

When you’re ready to start making money, you’ll open the Shipt app to see which orders are available to pick up. This is an example of what an available order to accept looks like.

You will get opportunities to pick up bundle batches that have 2 smaller orders that you shop for at the same time.  You can make more money with these types of orders but make sure you feel very comfortable with the process before taking a bundle on. You will need to stay organized. 

You can either use two baskets or use one large cart and use individual hand baskets to separate the orders to stay organized so you don’t get things confused.  Keep in mind that Meijer requires you to have separate carts for each order.

One of the best things about Shipt is that you choose if and when you want to work. You just open the app and see what batches are available and you decide if you want to pick one up or not.

Shoppers are offered orders based on their average customer star rating, as well as other things like distance, how close you are to a store, delivery time, your set schedule in the app, and if you have an alcohol and prescription certification. 

You can take the quick quiz on alcohol and prescription deliveries through the app and it will give you access to more batches and sometimes bigger tips. Each quiz takes about 10 minutes. 

Make sure you check your state’s law before applying to deliver alcohol because it’s illegal in some states. With alcohol deliveries, you have to scan the customer’s ID and get a signature before leaving the order so it is always a good idea to remind the customer of that when you start their order.

Shipt Shopping Process

Once you accept the order, you’ll head to the store to fulfill the order. The app will display your shopping list, you’ll mark off each item as you get it through the app and it adds it to the cart. You’ll note if something isn’t available and it’s always a good idea to send photos of replacement items to see if the customer is ok with the replacement, this is an opportunity to increase your tip. 

You’ll use your Shipt payment card to purchase the items and then you’ll simply deliver them to the customer’s home. Some orders are prepaid, in this case, you will go to self-checkout (Meijer) or customer service (Target) and they will count your items.  You will then bag your own groceries. And that’s it. 

You can also pick up orders in the morning so that you can have your day planned.  

After you claim the order and hit start shopping you’ll want to send the customer a text saying you are starting their order.  Most people will text back quickly.

As you shop and find items the app will move them from the list to the cart and count how many items you have shopped and show how many you have left to shop. 

You can go to your cart at any time to look at subs you chose or what items you couldn’t find.  You can always move an item back to the shopping list if a customer messages you that they want something instead.

Cons of becoming a Shipt Shopper

• Customers. You can have some of the most pleasant people to work with and then you can have some of the most difficult. Dealing with different kinds of people you just never know what you’ll get so this is just something to be aware of because they can affect your customer rating which could affect how many orders you’ll have access to. 
• Auto Insurance – If your auto insurance doesn’t cover Shipt services this could cost you extra. I’ve seen where this has added an extra $10-$15/mo to people’s insurance.
• Independent contractor – A 1099 employee so there are no reimbursements for things like gas or wear and tear on your vehicle but it’s important to know that you can write things off on your taxes like maintenance and repairs, including tire and oil changes, gas, car insurance, and so many other things so you want to make sure that you’re tracking all of this because you want to get some of this money back.
• Track all of your expenses using the Hurdler app. It tracks everything in real-time and helps you claim maximum tax deductions so you want to make sure you have this app. Speaking of taxes, you’ll want to save around 25% of your income because you are responsible for reporting and filing your own taxes. 
• Competition– there may be a lot of people in your area doing this and it won’t leave you with a lot of options to make extra money. So I wouldn’t depend on this as a consistent source of income but just as a way to make extra money.

Pros of becoming a Shipt Shopper

• 100% Tips – You can make great money on tips if you take the time to find the correct items and communicate with the customers.  You can actually start to build shopping relationships with some customers and if they think you do a really great job they can request you to be a preferred shopper.  You have the option to accept or deny this request. If you accept you will have first access to picking up their order when it is placed.  So it is a good thing to accept these requests.  
• Bonuses – Shipt also gives you an opportunity to make some extra money by giving bonuses.  For example, Friday morning they might send you a message in the app that if you complete 6 orders on the specified day you will get an extra $30! In addition to bonuses, Shipt also will offer promo orders. 
• Promo orders –  These are usually orders that need to be delivered right away or that are maybe a little farther driving distance. The additional promo amount is anywhere from  $1 – $5 (it will tell you when you click on the order).  
• Good exercise shopping for others
• Create your own schedule
• Get Shipt Services for FREE – You can order through the app like every other customer and get your groceries delivered (you will of course still want to tip!).  That is a savings of $99/yr!  Unlike Instacart, Shipt customers tip after the order is completed so it motivates you to do an awesome job. 

Related article: Instacart review

How to maximize your earnings and tips for beginners:

• Start by taking small orders for at least a few days. These orders are easier to complete and they will help you learn the app without getting overwhelmed.
• Once you are more comfortable with the app you can take larger orders. Really analyze each order to see if the earnings, tips and distance are worth your time.
• Make sure you give yourself enough time to fill and deliver the orders.  If you are late, your rating will go down and it can also affect your tip. Be on time!
• Shop stores you are familiar with. It’s easier to shop the same stores because you learn the layout. This makes you shop faster and increases your hourly rate.
• When you’re shopping always think about yourself, if you won’t buy an item for yourself then you shouldn’t buy it for the customer, don’t be afraid to refund an item if it’s poor quality, just take pictures and let the customer know why. You want to communicate as much as you can through words and pictures. If they don’t reply call and pay attention to expiration dates. one time I received milk that expired the same day I got it. When you deliver the items be sure to smile and act like you are enjoying what you’re doing.  Doing these things could result in getting you a bigger tip and keeping a high rating.
• You can also use other apps simultaneously like Instacart, Doordash even Amazon flex to increase your earnings. Find the highest paying order and take that one.
• Another tip to earn more is to Tell people about it. By referring others to join Shipt you can earn $10 every time you refer someone. What I would do, is start doing this, and then show your impressive earnings on your social media networks and encourage others to sign up and try it using my referral link.  
• For those who are wondering what you wear, You can wear whatever you want but you want to be presentable yet comfortable, so you can decide what that looks like. You will receive a Shipt shirt when you sign up but you are not required to wear it. 

Related article: How to become a DoorDash Driver

If you find that you really like this and you want to do this often definitely consider getting these items along the way:

• Insulated bags are now required by Shipt and you can purchase them from Walmart for under $5.  It is also a good idea to keep a cooler in your car, especially if you are doing more than one order at the same time.
• Phone Mount to help keep you safe while navigating.
• Portable Charger because The app drains your battery quickly.
• A lanyard phone holder to keep from dropping your phone while shopping, you’ll definitely see the need for this once you get started and last but not least consider getting a stair climbing cart or a wagon like these for big orders, it will make delivering groceries to a house or apartments with stairs so much easier, especially for big orders. it is very likely that you will get orders with cases of water or other heavy items and you’ll need to bring them from your car to the owner’s house. So if you plan on doing this a lot definitely consider investing in these and they are also a tax write-off!

Now that we have covered everything, I want to share a success story of one Shipt shopper that made over $230 in 3 hours and what she learned along the way to make this possible! 

First, shop early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays if you can. There are typically more orders available because people are home on the weekends and want groceries for the weekend.  If you can shop on one of these days while working on a bonus offer, even better. 

Another benefit is that the stores are not busy yet so you can get in and out faster. Try to accept orders that are medium size (25-45 items) so that you can hopefully do more than one order in an hour.  

You can also look for 2 smaller orders to shop at once.  Make sure you check the delivery location so that you can confirm the orders are going to houses that are close in location. Shop quickly and efficiently.  

Here is the breakdown:

Order 1 $11.89 + $10 tip= $21.89

Order 2 $14.21 + $7 tip= $21.21

Order 3 $9.89 + $8.32 tip= $18.32

Order 4 & 5 (bundle order) $17.82 + $21.00 tip= $38.82

Order 6 $18.32 + $40.00 tip= $58.32

Order 7 & 8 (bundle order) $21.98 + $20 tip= $41.98

Bonus $30

TOTAL= $230.54

She did 8 orders in just over 3 hours, got a $30 bonus, great tips and made over $230!  Of course, this doesn’t happen every time but it is possible!  On this day everyone tipped well.  Some days you have people who don’t tip at all.

Alright, you made it!  I have shared all you need to know to decide if this is an idea you would like to pursue.  If you want to sign up with Shipt, click here.

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