Fulfilling Instacart Orders

Overview

When a customer places an order through Instacart, it appears in your BloomNation POS as a pickup order — just like any other pickup order in your workflow. You prepare the arrangement, update the order status as you go, and an Instacart driver or the customer themselves comes to your shop to collect it. You don’t handle delivery.

Updating order statuses on time is important for Instacart orders. These statuses are how Instacart knows when to dispatch the driver or notify the customer to come to your shop.

Finding your Instacart orders

Instacart orders appear in your Orders Snapshot and All Orders, alongside your other orders. You can identify them by:

The label Imported from Instacart on the order card
The note Instacart requires order status updates below the status dropdown

What’s in an Instacart order

When you open an Instacart order, you’ll see:

Pickup Information — the pickup date and time window. This is the window during which the arrangement must be ready (see The pickup window below). You’ll also see whether the order will be picked up by an Instacart driver or the customer directly.
Card Message — if the customer included one, it will appear here.
Product Summary — the arrangement ordered and its product details and pricing.
Customer Information — this will show Instacart Customer. Customer and recipient details are not shared — the Instacart driver or customer handles delivery directly.
Charges Breakdown — shows your order total. Payment, taxes, and delivery are handled by Instacart. Refunds are handled by Instacart and are not available through your Dashboard.

The pickup window

Each Instacart order includes a pickup time window — for example, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM. This is the window during which the arrangement must be ready. The Instacart driver or customer is expected to arrive during this window to collect it.

You can have the arrangement ready before the window starts, but do not mark it as Ready for Pickup until the window begins. Once you mark it ready, the pickup person will be dispatched or notified and will arrive within the window.

Mark the order as Ready for Pickup during the window — before it closes. The pickup person needs time to travel to your shop, so don’t wait until the last minute.

Order statuses

Instacart orders use a specific set of statuses that notify Instacart and the pickup person as your order moves through your workflow. You can only move forward — you cannot go back to a previous status once it has been set.

The statuses, in order, are:

New

The order has arrived. No action has been taken yet.

Processing

You’ve acknowledged the order and are preparing to start.

Design in Progress

You’ve started working on the arrangement. Once you set this status, no further changes to the order will be accepted from Instacart — date, time, and card message updates are locked.

Ready for Pickup

The arrangement is finished and ready for collection. This status dispatches the Instacart driver or notifies the customer to come to your shop. Set this status before or during the pickup window.

Completed

The order has been delivered or collected. You do not set this status yourself — Instacart marks the order as Completed automatically once the order is finished.

Order updates from Instacart

Before you set the order to Design in Progress, Instacart may update the pickup date, time, or card message. If this happens, you’ll be notified according to your notification settings (email, SMS, or both), and the updated information will appear in your order details. No action is required — the update is for your awareness.

Once you set the order to Design in Progress, no further updates will be accepted.

Cancellations

You can cancel an Instacart order at any point before it is completed by selecting Cancelled from the status dropdown.

Frequent cancellations may affect your standing in the program. Cancel only when necessary — for example, if you’re unable to source the required flowers or cannot fulfill the order within the required time window.

Payouts

Instacart orders are paid out through BloomNation on the same schedule as your other orders — instantly if you have instant payouts enabled, or within two business days otherwise. No separate setup is required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the customer name show as “Instacart Customer”?

Customer and recipient information is not shared for Instacart orders. The Instacart driver or customer handles delivery directly, so your shop only needs to have the arrangement ready for pickup.

What if I’m running behind on an order?

Finish the arrangement as soon as possible, but wait until the pickup window opens before marking the order as Ready for Pickup. If the window has already started and you’re running behind, mark it ready as soon as you can.

Can I issue a refund or add charges to an Instacart order?

Refunds are handled by Instacart, not through BloomNation. Additional charges are not available for Instacart orders.

Can I go back to a previous status?

No. Instacart order statuses are forward-only. Once a status is set, you cannot return to a previous one.

Will I receive a BloomSnap prompt for Instacart orders?

No. BloomSnap is not available for Instacart orders.

Need help?

Our Partner Support team is here to help.

Phone: (210) 405-5050
Email: support@bloomnation.com