It’s a delivery driver nightmare.
You’ve picked up your customer’s order and are ready to make the delivery only to find no one home.
You might have had that happen when working for other delivery services, but not if you are a Shipt shopper.
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Can Shipt Leave Groceries at Your Door?
Shipt, a delivery service headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, purchased by the Target Corporation for $550 million, can drop off grocery deliveries at the door when customers aren’t at home.
This contactless delivery is indeed safe, and Shipt shoppers use disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.
This is a win for drivers who don’t have to find their customers to make deliveries from grocery stores such as Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, and Publix.
Drop-off deliveries are also a win for Shipt customers who get a safer, contactless delivery and don’t have to rush home from work, errands, or their kids’ sports practice to meet their Shipt shopper for a delivery.
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What if Shipt Customers Are Not Home?
When Shipt customers place a grocery order online or through the Shipt app, they can choose whether they want their order dropped off at their door or delivered in person.
Either way, the customer will get a text message and an email when the delivery is made.
Shipt shoppers whose customers signed up for an in-person delivery but aren’t home for the delivery should give their customers a call to see if a switch to dropping off the order is best.
The Shipt shopper is advised to return the order to the store if the customer still wants an in-person delivery but will be more than about 10 minutes in getting home.
Do I Need to Be Home for Shipt Deliveries?
One of the perks of using Shipt as a grocery delivery service is that you don’t have to be home for deliveries.
Just choose the drop-off delivery option instead of an in-person delivery so your Shipt shopper is notified to drop off your order.
Shipt customers find the drop-off delivery to be convenient.
With drop-off delivery, customers don’t have to rush home from work or find themselves in a panic if they’re stuck in traffic or just want to spend a little extra time at the gym.
Drop-off delivery gives Shipt customers one less time constraint and ensures that when they come home, their grocery delivery will be at their doorstep.
Everything they ordered to make dinner that night, feed the pets, or make coffee in the morning will be waiting on them.
Suggested Read
Shipt tracking: the complete guide to tracking a Shipt order after you’ve placed it
What Happens if a Shipt Shopper is Late?
Grocery deliveries should be on time, especially when perishable items are being delivered.
When is a Shipt Order Considered Late?
Shipt offers same day delivery in a requested time window, from 3pm to 4pm, for example.
In this case, a Shipt delivery made after 4pm would be considered late.
Traffic, texting customers whether they’d like a substitution for an item that’s out of stock, and delays at check-outs can make orders late.
Shipt shoppers who are running more than a few minutes late should contact their customers to let them know.
Orders placed in advance are less likely to be late.
Shipt members can request delivery as quickly as an hour after placing their order, but the shorter notice may make the order more likely to arrive late.
If the order is large, if some items are out of stock, or if traffic is heavy, the order could be late.
Shipt shoppers who deliver orders late will have a lower on-time percentage.
Consistently late deliveries will eventually mean deactivation from Shipt.
How Late Can Shipt Deliver?
Shipt has shoppers available whenever stores are open, so if stores are open 24 hours a day, then Shipt is, too.
However, it is less likely that you’ll get a Shipt shopper in the wee hours of the morning.
Shipt shoppers, of course, have to sleep too.
Will I Get a Text If My Order is Late?
Shipt members whose orders will be delivered late get texts from their Shipt shoppers letting them know why their deliveries are late and approximately when they will be delivered.
Any guidance Shipt members can give their Shipt shoppers will help them get their deliveries on time.
Here are a few options customers can check.
Early OK
When a Shipt member checks that it’s OK for their home delivery to come early, it means their shopper can shop and deliver anytime from the store’s opening to the end of the requested delivery window.
This gives Shipt shoppers more flexibility and allows them to shop when stores aren’t as crowded.
Delivery Only
Delivery-only orders are just like they sound.
As a Shipt worker, you’ll only deliver this order.
The groceries are selected by an in-store shopper just as for curbside delivery.
Shipt’s role in this type of order is to provide delivery only.
Drop Off
Drop-off messages to Shipt shoppers mean that the delivery can be dropped off even if the Shipt member isn’t home.
This allows the Shipt shopper to make a contactless delivery and move to their next order without waiting for a customer to return home.
Doorstep Delivery with Shipt
Having someone do your grocery shopping for you removes stress on busy days.
Some days you may not even have time for a curbside pickup.
Shipt shoppers are an alternative to Instacart shoppers and Instacart Express, Amazon Prime, and Amazon Fresh deliveries.
Your Walmart grocery pickup or must-haves from Target can be delivered to your doorstep with just a few clicks.
Membership in Shipt can include unlimited deliveries for $99 a year with no delivery fee.
Lower-priced memberships are available with limited free deliveries.
Knowing their deliveries can be safely dropped off at their doorstep is a benefit to Shipt members, since they don’t have to schedule their day around their grocery order.
The drop-off option also makes being a Shipt shopper easier and more efficient since a shopper can move to the next delivery after dropping off an order.
Doorstep drop-offs are a plus for Shipt shoppers that makes customers happy, too.
