Why zones are changing

Has a zone you shop recently been combined with other nearby zones? This is called, “zone consolidation,” and it’s happening across the country, as Instacart combines many smaller zones into fewer bigger zones. Curious to learn more about zone consolidation? Read on!

Bigger zones are better

Though it may not seem so from the outset, consolidated zones create better earning opportunities for Shoppers. When the zones are bigger, the system isn’t bogged down with boundary issues. Customers can place orders from a wider range of locations, which makes it easier to offer more batches to Shoppers.

As an example, the map below shows the zones in our Raleigh Durham region — before and after zone consolidation. We used to have three zones, which were consolidated into one.

Before zone consolidation

After zone consolidation

In the Before image, the three zones posed the following challenges:

• Scenario 1: A customer in the Durham zone wants to place an order, but there are no Shoppers available in that zone. That customer will not be allowed to place an order, even if there are shoppers in the Northeast or Southwest zones who are waiting for orders.
• Scenario 2: A customer in the Durham zone places an order. There are two shoppers nearby; both are free to shop the order. The Shopper in Durham, however, is 15 miles away from the order. The other Shopper is, technically, in the Southwest zone, but is only 1 mile away from the order. Before consolidating zones, the order would have been assigned to the Shopper in Durham, even though the Shopper in Southwest Raleigh is logistically closer.
• Scenario 3: Two customers live 20 feet away from each other, on either side of the boundary between any of the three zones. Because the system recognizes the customers live in separate zones, the orders would have been assigned to two separate shoppers. By consolidating zones, the orders can be combined into one batch, which is both practical and better for the Shopper’s earning potential.

All three of the scenarios demonstrate that zone consolidation is better for Shoppers (and customers) — bigger zones are better.

What about driving distances?

Our batching system takes distance into account, with a limit on driving distance per leg. In addition, we do our best to make sure Shoppers are offered batches that allow them to end their day close to where they started. We understand that this solution won’t work in every scenario. With this in mind, Shoppers should use their location as a factor to help determine which batches to accept. We also encourage Shoppers to keep the app open while waiting for batches, as this allows the system more accurate location data and increases efficiency in offering closer batches.

Because the risk of longer drives does increase when we consolidate zones, we are implementing a new form of the long-distance bump to account for longer drives. In newly consolidated zones, Shoppers now earn $0.60 per mile above 8 miles for each “leg” of the batch that is over 8 miles, rounded to the closest 0.1 mile, with a minimum earnings of $1.

A leg of a delivery is defined as a point-to-point drive. For example, a batch that has 2 orders would have 3 legs: (1) a leg from Shopper’s current location to the suggested store, (2) a leg from the store to Customer A, (3) a leg from Customer A to Customer B.

What does zone consolidation mean for you?

Based on the three scenarios, combining zones should result in lower wait time between orders (scenario 1), shorter drive distances on average (scenario 2) and bigger batch sizes (scenario 3). Does this actually happen? Yes! Here’s one example of real data from Raleigh-Durham in late November. The graph illustrates a decrease in the average wait time between orders after the zone consolidation:

These benefits are the main reason we’re rolling out zone consolidation nationwide, focusing on places where it could have the most impact. As we roll out, we’re also surveying local Shoppers to understand how consolidation is affecting them and how we can improve the experience.

Stay tuned for announcements regarding consolidations in a zone near you!