For busy working professionals and households with children, sometimes the weekends are the only time that you can get anything done. The difficulty is that despite Sunday no longer being a “day of rest,” many stores do have limited hours or none at all.
Does Instacart deliver on Sunday? It sure would make a lot of families’ lives easier if they did, so I’ve got the answer you need.
Key Takeaways
Does Instacart Deliver on Sunday In 2022?
Instacart delivers seven days a week, including Sundays; in fact, Sundays actually account for one of the busiest days for grocery shopping on the app. This Sunday availability does have one downside, however: peak shopping hours may mean higher delivery/pick-up fees, as well as fewer available shoppers, so wait times can be longer than usual.
To learn more about Instacart’s Sunday and weekend availability, whether the shopping service ever stops, what the general availability for shoppers is, and even what the busiest days are for Instacart, read on! I’ve got all you need to know!
Does Instacart Deliver on Weekends?
Instacart absolutely delivers on weekends, and it’s one of the busiest times for the company’s fleet of shoppers.
Weekends, especially Sundays, have always been a traditionally busy time for grocery shopping, as many use the time for a weekly “reset” before Monday.
Even those who grocery shop on Saturday may find they forgot something and use Sunday to obtain it before the weekly grind starts.
You also might be wondering what time Instacart is available for delivery on weekends. For example, some stores have shorter hours on Sundays.
How does that work with Instacart?
In fact, stores are able to set their own operational hours on Instacart.
Those operational delivery hours tend to start an hour or so after the store opens, and end an hour or so before the store closes.
So, if a grocer has shorter Sunday hours, say they close at 8 p.m. instead of their weekday 10 p.m., then the delivery hours typically reflect that by ending at 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.
It’s highly individual to each retailer, so if you want to know when you can order grocery delivery on weekends, especially Sundays, check the Instacart app.
Navigate to the store you’re interested in ordering from, and click/press where it reads “View pricing policy.”
This will bring up a screen that includes operational hours and available delivery times for up to five days in advance.
Finally, it’s important to note that using Instacart exclusively on the weekends – especially Sundays – can be more expensive than normal.
That’s because, during peak shopping hours, some retailers command higher delivery fees.
For example, Aldi in some areas charges the usual $3.99 for delivery. But on Sunday afternoons, that may go up to $7.99.
However, you can circumvent all this by becoming an Instacart Express member for $10/month or $99 per year.
You’ll get unlimited free delivery and pick-up – even during peak shopping – and discounted service fees.
Does Instacart Stop at Certain Times?
Instacart the app is operational 24/7, 365 days a year – meaning you can add to your grocery cart, make changes to your account, etc.
However, specific retailers on the app may and do stop delivering at certain times, based on their own regular store hours.
Did you know, though, that some Instacart retailers actually do deliver 24/7 in some markets?
As of fall 2021, some Instacart partners that operate 24-hour stores – e.g., Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven – now also offer delivery 24 hours a day.
This is not widely available currently, but if you live in an area where you have a 24-hour drug or convenience store, it’s worth checking to see if delivery is offered at any time of day.
This is really a game-changer for those lucky enough to live near a 24-hour retailer, especially on Sunday nights, when many grocery stores close early.
In some areas, you can now get that delivered, even at midnight, even at 2 a.m. on a Monday morning.
What Times Does Instacart Deliver?
Each retailer on Instacart sets its own delivery hours, but if you had to generalize, most stores begin delivering around 8 or 9 a.m. and end around 8 or 9 p.m.
In some areas, Aldi stores open at 9 a.m., and delivery begins at 10 a.m.
It’s all very location-specific, as the same chains in different cities can have different hours; even the same chain in the same city can have different hours.
The best course of action is to check the Instacart app for available delivery times, which you can see up to five days in advance.
What Are the Busiest Days for Instacart?
According to ThisOnlineWorld.com, the busiest days for Instacart overall are on the weekend.
As the author points out, it’s when people normally do their grocery shopping, but it’s also when they’re most likely to be home to accept deliveries.
However, weekdays can be busy, too – it’s just a matter of what time.
The writer at This Online World also mentions 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays as a peak shopping period.
They claim that when people are getting out of work, all they want to do is get home – not stop at the grocery store.
This is especially true for those with a long commute or those who exclusively use public transportation.
How Do You Know If Instacart Is Busy?
It’s Sunday morning, and you’re wondering if Instacart is busy.
There’s no way of knowing for sure, but you might get an idea if you check the app.
Navigate to the grocer/retailer of your choice, and press on the time listed, adjacent to where you can toggle Delivery and Pickup on/off.
This will bring up Delivery and/or Pickup times.
If the next available delivery is more than two hours in advance, Instacart shoppers are being kept fairly busy.
If it’s more than four or six hours in advance, shopping is really active.
And the real indicator is that there are just not enough shoppers to keep up with the demand if the next delivery or pickup isn’t until the following day.
To find out more, you can also read our posts on whether or not Instacart delivers prescriptions, if Instacart delivers to apartments, and Sam’s Club Instacart.
Conclusion
Instacart delivers on Sunday and counts it among its most popular days of the week, especially for groceries.
The best way to find out your favorite store’s Sunday delivery availability is to check the Instacart app, where delivery times are listed up to five days in advance.