Dive Brief:

• Instacart announced on Thursday it’s adding a new tool for its workers that lets them know the best times to shop in specific areas.
• The peak earning days feature will give workers more control in deciding when and for how long they want to work, allowing them to plan for the week ahead. The feature started rolling out Thursday and will expand in the coming months, Instacart noted in a blog post.
• The additional feature follows a months-long rollout by Instacart earlier this year of various tools for its workers, including tip protection, multi-store batching and in-store navigation. 

Dive Insight:

Instacart is helping to take the guesswork out of how its workforce of more than 600,000 gig workers can earn more money by leveraging its shopping insights. 

With the new tool, workers will be able to see in the Shopper app every Thursday the peak earning days chart highlighting the days in the following week that pay more per batch, relative to other days that week. Workers will also have the ability to adjust their location to compare earnings potential across different areas.

“When it comes to shopping with Instacart, we believe that information increases flexibility,” John Adams, vice president of shopper and fulfillment product at Instacart, said in the blog post. “The peak earning days feature equips shoppers with another tool to optimize their time and better their ability to earn.”

The tool builds on Instacart’s copious app changes this year to give workers more tools aimed at making their jobs easier, increasing their safety and boosting their earning potential. Instacart indicated it’s not done, noting in the announcement that it’s open to making changes to continue enhancing its fulfillment experience. 

“As we look to the future, we’re excited to continue rolling out features like peak earning days that help shoppers maximize their earning potential,” Adams said.