Last mile delivery user journey

Instacart Connect seamlessly powers same-day delivery on retailer-owned e-commerce sites. The last mile delivery end-to-end user journey shows an example of a customer using a retailer site to create an order for last mile delivery. A retailer employee shops the order and stages it for delivery by a shopper.

A last mile delivery implementation enables you to create a better customer experience and reduce customer disappointment by showing your customers available time slots based on estimated capacity. This implementation requires multiple endpoints.

tip

If you're integrating with multiple third-party fulfillment providers, consider a dispatch last mile delivery implementation instead. For more information, see Dispatch last mile delivery user journey.

The journey highlights the key transitions from the customer point of view:

1. Start shopping
2. Begin the checkout process
3. Choose a delivery time slot
4. Review and place the order
5. Receive the delivery

You'll see the following tabs at each transition:

• Journey tab. Describes what happens during this step for the customer and the retailer site.
• API tab. Lists the endpoint methods or events that can be used at this point in the workflow.
• Retailer options tab. Lists some workflow decisions a retailer makes before implementing a solution.

Start shopping

Journey

1. The customer visits the retailer e-commerce site.
2. The customer selects delivery.
3. The customer enters their postal code and gets a list of store locations that offer last mile delivery.
4. The customer selects a store location. The store location determines what inventory is available in the catalog.
5. The customer fills their cart.

API

You can use the following endpoints at this point in the workflow:

• Find stores offering last mile delivery
• Preview time slots for last mile delivery

Retailer options

• A retailer site can find stores by postal code or by latitude and longitude. For best performance, use postal codes. It can take a little longer to find stores by latitude and longitude.
• A retailer site can allow the customer to pick a store or it can determine the fulfillment store based on proximity or some other factor.
• A retailer site can show available time slots to the customer before they start shopping. However, the time slot might or might not be available or suitable by the time the customer checks out their cart.

Begin the checkout process

Journey

1. The customer logs in to their retailer customer account.
2. The retailer site creates a Connect user account for this customer that can be used by Instacart.
3. If the cart contains alcohol, the retailer site prompts for the customer's date of birth. The customer must be old enough to legally purchase alcohol in their region.

API

You can use the following endpoints at this point in the workflow:

• Create a Connect user account and validate an address
• Create a Connect user account

Retailer options

• The Connect user account provides a layer of separation between the retailer's customer account and Instacart. Only the details required to fulfill the order are sent to Instacart. If you prefer a different model, discuss options with your Instacart Connect representative.
• For carts with alcohol, it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that alcohol type, alcohol quantity, and the age of the customer are in compliance with regional laws. The best practice is to tell customers what to expect when their alcohol is delivered. For more information, see Alcohol compliance.
• A retailer site can ask customers if they have an Instacart+ membership. If so, the site can invite the customer to link their Connect user account to their Instacart account. For more information, see Account linking.
• Addresses are validated when the order is created, but you can choose to check the address when the user is created.

Choose a delivery time slot

Journey

1. The customer sees a list of available time slots. If the cart contains alcohol, some time slots might not be available due to regional laws for the sale or delivery of alcohol.
2. The customer selects a time slot. The time slots are the same as the time slots currently available on Instacart Marketplace.
3. The retailer site sends a request to reserve the time slot. The time slot is reserved for 10 minutes, which is usually enough time for the customer to finish the checkout process.

API

You can use the following endpoints at this point in the workflow:

• List time slots
• Reserve a time slot

Retailer options

• When retrieving the list of time slots, all time slots with capacity are returned. In the retailer site, you might want to identify which time slots are suitable for alcohol delivery so that the customer is guided to an appropriate time slot based on what they expect to purchase.
• A retailer site can reserve a time slot at any time during the checkout process, but it is best to reserve it close to the end of the checkout process. If a reservation expires before the customer's order is created, Connect still attempts to book the time slot. However, if the time slot has no more capacity, the retailer site needs to prompt the customer to choose a new time slot.

Review and place the order

Journey

1. The customer reviews and validates their order and delivery address.
2. The retailer site prompts for other order fulfillment information, including:
   • Confirmation to leave the delivery unattended. Default is false.
   • (Optional) Special instructions.
3. The retailer site notifies the customer that they are automatically subscribed to SMS communications. This enables status notifications to be sent to customers.
4. The retailer site prompts for payment and preauthorizes the order total.
5. The retailer site creates the order. It can take several seconds to receive order confirmation from Instacart.

API

You can use the following endpoint at this point in the workflow:

• Create a last mile delivery order

Retailer options

• The retailer site handles all payments and might preauthorize the order total or immediately charge it. The order total might change if items are replaced or refunded during the shopping process.
• The retailer site might also conduct fraud checks at this point.

Receive the delivery

Journey

1. A retailer employee shops for the order, applies labels to the bags that identify the order, and places the bags in a staging area.
2. A shopper picks up the order, confirms it is the right order, and delivers it to the customer.
3. If order contains alcohol, the customer presents identification that includes their date of birth. For more information, see Alcohol compliance.
4. The retailer site receives the delivered callback.
5. The retailer site processes the payment for the order total including tip.
6. If the customer wants to adjust their tip, the customer has up to 2 hours to decrease their tip and up to 14 days to increase their tip.
7. The customer provides feedback on the order.

API

You can use the following endpoint at this point in the workflow:

• Stage a last mile delivery order
• Update a tip

Retailer options

- Optionally, the bag labels can include retailer-generated barcodes that are sent to Instacart with the stage request. If so, the shopper will scan the barcode labels when they pick up the order to verify they have the correct bags. - The retailer site manages all payments and the retailer can choose when to process payments. - The retailer site manages all post-delivery communications, such as collecting ratings from the customer.