After a long day, I’m scrolling through Instacart to get groceries delivered without having to leave my couch. I know I’m not the only one who finds it way more convenient than going to the grocery stores. In addition to the convenience, I also see the report that I’ve saved 137 hours with Instacart. Isn’t that great? It’s convenient, sure, but have you ever wondered what you’re really paying for that convenience? I decided to dig into the numbers after my Instacart delivery driver accidentally left the store receipt in my bag. What I discovered was eye opening.
My Sprouts Order: Double-Charged and Marked Up
A few days ago, I placed an order through Instacart from Sprouts Farmers Market. When the delivery arrived, I found the physical Sprouts receipt tucked in with my groceries. Out of curiosity, I compared it line-by-line with my Instacart receipt. Here’s what I found:
The Double CRV Charge
California’s Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires consumers to pay a deposit (CRV) on certain beverages, which you get back when you return the empty containers. On my Sprouts receipt, I was charged:
- CRV FS 120: $1.20 (for the 24-pack water)
- CRV FS/TX 20: $0.20 (for immunity boost shots)
- CRV FS 10: $0.10 (for apple juice)
- Total CRV at Sprouts: $1.50
But then I looked at my Instacart receipt. There was an additional “Beverage Container Fee” of $1.50. I had been charged twice for the exact same state-mandated recycling fee. This isn’t a markup or service fee, it’s paying the same government-required fee (or deposit if I return the bottles) two times.
Item Price Markups
Beyond the double CRV charge, I noticed several items were marked up:
- Cucumbers: Sprouts charged $2.00 each ($4.00 total), Instacart charged $2.50 each ($5.00 total) – a 25% markup
- Water: Sprouts listed it at $3.99, Instacart showed $4.29 before applying a sale price
However, some items were priced the same or even slightly lower on Instacart, like the pears which cost $2.81 at Sprouts but only $1.87 through Instacart. It doesn’t apply a flat markup and pricing varies item by item, which makes it harder for customers to spot overcharges.
The Fee Pile-Up
When I added up all the extras, here’s what Instacart tacked on:
- Service Fee: $2.00
- Beverage Container Fee: $1.50 (the duplicate charge)
- Checkout Bag Fee: $0.25
- Tip: $5.00
- Sales Tax: $1.43
My total at Sprouts in-store would have been $55.69. Through Instacart, I paid $62.06, $6.37 more, with the duplicate CRV fee accounting for a significant portion of that difference.
It’s not just me: Different Store, Same Story
After discovering this, I mentioned it to my manager, who had recently received an Instacart order from Gus’s Community Market in San Francisco. His delivery driver also forgot to take the receipt. We analyzed his order together, and while it didn’t have the CRV issue (no beverages), it revealed other interesting patterns.
Price Discrepancies at Gus’s
- Acme Walnut Levain Bread: Gus’s charged $8.99, Instacart charged $9.99 – an 11% markup
- Bubbies Kosher Dill Relish: Gus’s charged $6.99, Instacart charged $6.69, actually $0.30 less (a rare win for the customer)
There was also a strange discrepancy with a refunded item. The original order was for “Bubbies Dill Pickles, Baby Kosher (16 fl oz)” priced at $8.89, but the refund section showed “Bubbies Kosher Dill Pickles (33 fl oz)” refunded at $11.09. These are different sizes with different prices, it’s unclear what was actually ordered versus what the system processed.
Fee Breakdown
For his $16.23 grocery purchase, Instacart added:
- Service Fee: $2.49 (about 15% of the subtotal)
- Priority Fee: $1.00
- Checkout Bag Fee: $0.25
- Tip: $2.00
- And the $1 extra for the bread
After analyzing both orders, here’s what we discovered about Instacart’s pricing strategy:
- Inconsistent item pricing: Some items are marked up significantly (25% for cucumbers, 11% for bread), some match store prices, and some are cheaper
- Service fees run 12-15% of your subtotal before other fees
- Duplicate or confusing fees like the double CRV charge can slip through unnoticed
- The cumulative effect is substantial: You can easily pay 30-40% more than shopping in-store
The most concerning finding is the double CRV charge. This isn’t just a markup for convenience but it’s charging customers twice for the same state-mandated environmental fee.
Breaking Down the Numbers with Veryfi
To better understand what was going on with my Instacart order, I decided to put Veryfi’s technology to work. I uploaded both my physical Sprouts receipt and my Instacart digital receipt to see exactly where the discrepancies were hiding. Within seconds, Veryfi extracted every line item, fee, and charge from both receipts, making it very easy to compare them side by side. Here’s what the analysis revealed:
How to Protect Yourself from Hidden Charges
Whether you’re a frequent Instacart user or just ordering groceries occasionally, these hidden fees and duplicate charges can add up quickly. This is exactly where receipt digitization and expense tracking tools like Veryfi come in handy.
Veryfi’s OCR and document processing technology can help you capture, digitize, and analyze your receipts: both from in-store purchases and delivery services. Veryfi makes it easy to spot discrepancies like duplicate CRV charges, unexpected markups, or pricing errors by automatically extracting line items, taxes, and fees from your receipts. Instead of manually comparing paper receipts to digital invoices, Veryfi’s AI does the job, helping you understand exactly where your money is going.
Whether you’re managing personal expenses or business purchases, having a clear, itemized record of what you’re actually being charged, versus what you should be charged, can save you hundreds of dollars over time. And in cases like these, where delivery services may not always be transparent about their pricing, that visibility isn’t just convenient – it’s essential.