Shopper

While he vows to not give up pursuing a different dream career, he works long hours, physically and mentally demanding, using his determination and planning skills to earn enough money to support himself and his family.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

The career story of Larry Askew (LA), age 45 when the news article about him appeared in October 2023, did not include any information about where LA was born or the occupations of his parents. 

LA is divorced and is obligated to send weekly child support payments to his ex-wife for the benefit of his two young children. 

A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL SHOPPER

At 5:50 a.m. in late June, the sun is just peeking over the horizon when LA wakes up in the front seat of his Nissan Sentra automobile, parked – as it is every night – in a lot across from Wegmans grocery store on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, D.C. LA’s next move is to set his plastic frame glasses – missing one of the two arms because he’d accidentally sat on them – over his eyes so he could see to drive across the street to the Wegman’s parking garage, where he opened the Instagram app on his phone and started scrolling on his phone.

LA is a professional shopper – and a highly dedicated one. From 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, 7 days a week, he shops for Instacart, bagging groceries mostly at this Wegmans and driving them around the city in his Nisson Sentra sedan. In the afternoon, he turns on the UberEats app and delivers takeout until about 11 p.m. Then he goes to a gym to shower, drives back to the parking lot, reclines the front seat, and falls immediately asleep. 

By 10 a.m. that June morning, LA was frustrated. He’d only managed to snag one small delivery, earning about $30. That meant that he was already behind on his goals to earn about $20 an hour and $250 for the day. Sitting at a table in the Wegmans eating area in a hoodie and jogger pants, LA stared at his phone as a fisherman stares out to sea: trying not to jump at the small fish but instead, hold out for bigger ones. Meanwhile, his competition – fellow local pro shoppers, many of whom were seated at nearby tables – were doing exactly the same thing. 

When customers place an order through Instacart, the app groups the orders into “batches” of one or more orders that are reasonably close geographically, then posts them in the Instacart Shopper App, where nearby pro shoppers can view and select them. Every time a new batch gets posted, pro shoppers can see the amount they’ll earn (“base batch pay” – a sometimes mysteriously calculated amount, plus tip), the distances they’ll have to drive, and the number of items in the batch. In a densely populated, higher-income area like Northwest D.C., batches pop up frequently. But the same area is also dense with Instacart pro shoppers, so many batches are only on the app for a few seconds before a pro shopper grabs the assignment. Thus, the pro shoppers must do rapid real-time calculations about whether a batch is worth their time and if so, then act fast to secure the assignment. 

LA is relatively picky about his batches. He mostly shops at Wegmans and doesn’t like to take batches that include multiple grocery stores. He doesn’t like to take orders under $40, and he tries to keep the delivery distance short to maximize his hourly rate. He is a ‘Diamond Cart’ shopper – meaning the frequency of his shopping assignments (over 2700 to date) and his excellent reviews (always a perfect 5 rating), have earned priority access to good batches. 

That Wednesday, LA is not seeing many profitable shopping opportunities. “Twelve miles for $35 is not really a good batch. Seven miles for $21, also not a good batch,” says LA, rapidly thumbing through the app’s opportunities. He considers a $41, 13-mile batch but it’s gone before he can click on it. Finally, he sees one worth his time. He clicks “accept,” waits – “this is the stressful part, where you’re just like ‘Did I get it, did I get it, did I get it?” then reads the words “Transitioning batch” with significant relief. 

Once LA gets access to the communication portal, he sends each of his three new customers a short message – copied and pasted from his ‘Notes’ app – “Hello… I will be your shopper today. Have no worries because I understand the importance of shopping for your (loved) ones. That why I shop for clients like I’m shopping for myself and my loved ones,” his message begins. 

LA sends those introductory messages because he likes to build trust and a personal connection to each client, which LA learned in his previous job, selling cars. 

Now the order is on his phone, organized by grocery store layout to guide LA through Wegmans in the most efficient manner possible. Speed is essential for grocery app success, and much of the shopper experience is structured to incentivize a quick delivery. Instacart calculates each shopper’s “seconds per item” number; anything under 100, LA says, is good. His average is 75. 

Part of LA’s speed advantage is that he sticks close to Wegmans, where the layout rarely changes. According to LA: Costco, on the other hand, changes its layout frequently; while Costco’s batches are often larger and more lucrative, shopping there can lower the pro shopper’s speed rating. 

Experienced pro shoppers know which grocery stores have smooth running carts, which have unreliable elevators and which stores are confusingly laid out. This sort of information can shave seconds off a speed rating. 

Some pro shoppers sprint through the store like they’re playing a video game. LA moves like a marathoner: easily, confidently, with tremendous focus and spatial awareness but seemingly in no obvious hurry. He fist-bumps Wegman employees and other Instacart shoppers, who all seem to know him and have obscure nicknames for him. He takes his time with produce, gently squeezing several avocados until he finds one at the perfect level of ripeness. “I don’t pick out soft ones unless the customer specifies that,” says LA. 

Once LA’s shopping cart is full, he checks out at the store’s cash register and heads to his car, where he loads the bags in separate areas of his car to avoid mixing up people’s groceries. Next, he puts on his one-armed driving glasses and heads off to the first delivery. 

While the chaotic atmosphere of any grocery store has some similarity to a typical factory workplace, the driving part of LA’s day is far more solitary and thoughtful. He likes listening to interesting YouTube videos, preferring history, sports, and true crime. And driving gives him space to think about why he’s doing this work in the first place: independence and freedom while earning enough to pay his bills. 

The first two stops on LA’s route go quickly: the customers aren’t home or don’t come out to greet him. So, LA drops off their bags at the door, sends a final notification text and moves on. But at the final stop, a customer steps out to say “hi” – one of the rare in-person interactions LA has with the people he spends his whole day shopping for. After a brief conversation about the customer having used the app to make some timely changes to her order, they say goodbye. LA gets into his car and drives back to Wegmans to sit once again in the eating area, stare into his phone and wait for a new batch to appear. 

CHALLENGE – PROLIFERATION OF BOTS

Even with all of LA’s experience and excellent performance, he sometimes struggles to find a worthwhile batch. One frustrating aspect of the app for many users is the proliferation of ‘bots’ (a software application that is programmed to do certain tasks. Bots are automated, which means they run according to their pre-programmed instructions, without a human user) some of which have been banned in the Google Play store but are still available online for download, that scoop up good batches before anyone can even see them. 

“If you see somebody every day with a huge order every time, he’s using a bot,” says LA. Instacart officially prohibits the use of bots, but in practice – according to LA and other pro shoppers interviewed – the company does little to combat them, though an Instacart representative, speaking anonymously to the news article reporter, stated that the company has taken legal action against the bots and their users as well as beefed up security on the app. 

OVERVIEW OF THE PROFESSIONAL SHOPPING INDUSTRY

Americans have come to rely heavily on shoppers like LA to select their groceries, a very personal task. Instacart, one of the largest grocery-focused apps, served more than 13 million users in 2022, according to industry publications, and employs at least 600,000 shoppers. Amazon Prime, FreshDirect, Gopuff and others employ many more. Use peaked in the first year of the pandemic and has leveled off more recently, but professional shoppers are now a permanent fixture in most U.S. grocery stores. 

CHALLENGES ARE MANY

Gig-economy strivers struggle with uncertain pay, occasional poor treatment, and the sheer physical stress of hauling around groceries all day. 

(Editor’s note: ‘Gig economy’ refers to temporary and part-time jobs filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time, permanent employees. Gig workers gain work flexibility and independence but little or no job security and usually no employer paid benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation time. The term ‘gig’ is borrowed from the music world, where performers book ‘gigs’ that are single or short-term engagements at various venues.)

LA is physically able to fill heavy orders and carry them up flights of stairs at the delivery location, even if he is exhausted at the end of the day. But grocery app workers without that physical capacity can really struggle, other gig workers have said. 

Pro shoppers are prone to carpal tunnel syndrome, joint pain and other physical ailments related to lifting and carrying frequent heavy loads. 

CHALLENGE – SOME CUSTOMER INTERACTIONS

In addition to have to deal sometimes with nasty people complaining unreasonably about the product selected, the condition of the products upon delivery and the timeliness of the delivery, a phenomenon described by multiple Instacart shoppers is ‘tip bating ‘ where a customer posts a high tip to ensure that someone picks up their order, then lowers the tip in the app after delivery. (Instacart offers protection for its shoppers in this scenario.)

Reviewers can be randomly cruel and customers can be rude in other ways as well. 

CHALLENGE – BALANCING WORK TIME WITH FAMILY LIFE

“I don’t see my kids as much as I want to, because I’m always working,” says LA. And it’s hard to make time for anything else, like doctor’s appointments or getting his broken glasses fixed or seeing friends, because he’s always aware that he could be making money instead. “Every time I try to make the time, it’s like I feel guilt – gotta be working, gotta be working, gotta be working,” thinks LA. He knows that he needs to create more time outside of work. But “it’s a balance I always have to be figuring out.”

AN EARLIER JOB AND A DIFFERENT, DREAM CAREER 

Before working with Instacart, LA worked at a car dealership until one day he looked out the window and saw two salesmen running toward the car of a potential customer. He thought, “Is that what I look like to customers? I wasn’t really being fulfilled.” 

He began to drive for UberEats and Instacart and realized he could make more money doing that. 

Still, LA has vowed to not give up on his dream: developing a sports trivia app, which he has named “Score 7” while he works on it for one day every week. But to follow that dream, while also paying child support, LA had to give up his apartment and move into his car as his only residence – of course finding different places to use for a bathroom and bathing. 

CAREER SATISFACTION

For LA, it’s not as much about the money as about the independence. “My whole life, I don’t chase money, I chase freedom,” he said. “I want to be free.”

Editor’s note: While independence and freedom are excellent goals, unless a person is financially supported by ‘others’ (‘Others’ may include family – like parents or spouse – or the government if the individual is fully or partially disabled), everyone needs to earn at least enough to pay their basic bills: food, housing (roof over head plus furnishings and plumbing), transportation, clothing, and healthcare. In addition, a more comfortable lifestyle would include earning enough to afford savings for retirement and emergencies, vacations, gifts to others (including charities), owning (always adorable) pets, participation in activities like fitness, hobbies like sports (playing or watching), reading, donation of time to provide free service to others and at least considering investing time and expense in formal education beyond high school. 

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This brief career story is based on several sources including a news article written (very well) by Britt Peterson of the Washington Post, published also by The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper on October 31, 2023, plus internet research.