Costco Is Misleading Its Members About Same-Day Delivery — And It’s Hurting Instacart Shoppers.

When you order same-day delivery through Costco’s website or app, it seems like a convenient, no-hassle perk — maybe even similar to Amazon Prime.

But what Costco doesn’t tell you is this: those deliveries are fulfilled by independent Instacart shoppers who do far more than just deliver.

These workers — many of whom rely on this income to survive — are responsible for shopping your entire order, waiting in long checkout lines, driving in their personal vehicles, and personally delivering your groceries, often with care and precision.

Costco fails to make this clear at checkout. It simply calls the tip a “delivery tip” with flat dollar options and no explanation that tips are the shopper’s main source of income. Most customers have no idea they’re hiring a full-service worker — and no idea how little they’re actually paid.

This lack of transparency hurts everyone:

Customers are misled

Shoppers are undervalued

A multi-billion-dollar company avoids responsibility

It’s time to hold Costco accountable. They must clearly state that their “same-day delivery” is powered by full-service Instacart shoppers — and educate members on how the system works and why tipping fairly matters.

This isn’t a free service. It’s labor — and it deserves recognition.

Join us in demanding transparency, fairness, and dignity for Instacart shoppers.

Costco Members Deserve Transparency — And Instacart Shoppers Deserve Respect.

Costco proudly promotes “Same-Day Delivery” on its website and app — but what it doesn’t say is who’s really doing the work.

That delivery isn’t handled by a faceless service. It’s completed by real people — independent contractors working through Instacart. These shoppers:

Use their own vehicles and pay for their own gas

Navigate crowded aisles, long checkout lines, and tight delivery windows

Hand-pick your items with care — often for less than minimum wage

Rely on tips to make the job even remotely viable

And yet, Costco buries this reality.

At checkout, the tip is called a “delivery tip” — a flat dollar amount — with no explanation that the tip is the primary income for the person shopping your entire order.

There’s no mention that these shoppers aren’t employees. No mention that there’s no base pay from Costco. And no effort to communicate that this is a full-service, labor-intensive task — not just a handoff at the door.

Costco is a multi-billion-dollar company. It must be transparent with its members and fair to the workers it indirectly relies on.

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We, the undersigned, call on Costco to:

1. Clearly disclose at checkout that same-day delivery is fulfilled by an independent full-service Instacart shopper — not Costco employees.

 

2. Explain that shoppers are not salaried or hourly workers and that tips are essential to their earnings.

 

3. Use percentage-based or service-style tipping recommendations (e.g., 15–20%), not arbitrary flat amounts.

 

4. Stop misleading language like “delivery only” when in reality, the shopper handles the entire process — shopping, checkout, loading, driving, and hand-delivering.

 

5. Educate members that this is not a “free delivery” or Prime-style perk — it’s a labor-intensive service, and it deserves respect.

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Why this matters:

Costco is one of Instacart’s biggest clients. What it does sets the standard for other retailers.

By keeping customers in the dark, Costco contributes to a system that undervalues human labor — and undermines the dignity of thousands of shoppers who make same-day delivery possible.

It's time to tell the truth.

It’s time for Costco to treat shoppers — and its members — with honesty.