Instacart Introduces $5.99 Fee for Grocery Orders in NYC
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New Yorkers who have come to rely on the convenience of grocery delivery were taken aback this week when Instacart introduced a new fee on orders. This unexpected charge is linked to a significant city law that took effect on Monday.
Customers will now see an additional fixed fee of $5.99 at checkout, labeled as a “Regulatory Response Fee.”
According to the city’s official website, app-based couriers delivering groceries through third-party platforms like Instacart are now entitled to earn a minimum of $21.44 per hour. This rate aligns with the compensation that has been applicable to restaurant delivery workers, including those working for Uber Eats and DoorDash, since April 2025.
This worker protection measure is set to further increase the minimum wage to $22.13 per hour by April, in response to inflation. Previously, there was no legal minimum specifically for grocery delivery workers.
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A delivery worker picks up Wegmans bags outside a store in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The regulatory response fee is the direct result of the City Council’s misguided and burdensome grocery delivery laws, which took effect this week,” an Instacart spokesperson stated to FOX Business on Wednesday.
They added, “For months, we raised clear, data-backed concerns that the policy would increase grocery delivery costs for New Yorkers, but those warnings were repeatedly ignored. At a time when household budgets are already under strain, the City moved forward with a policy that makes food less affordable and harder to access for the New Yorkers who rely on grocery delivery the most.”
Whole Foods cashier Jason Ellsworth rings up groceries as an Instacart shopper double-checks her smartphone for items ordered. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
At checkout, Instacart also mentioned that the new fee “helps cover increased operating costs in NYC due to government regulations on delivery platforms,” as noted in social media posts.
Additionally, the law mandates that delivery services offer customers a tipping option before checkout, with the default tip set at 10% of the order’s cost. The city stated that these measures aim to address practices that previously hid or delayed tip prompts, which they estimate cost workers over $550 million.
While tipping has always been optional on the platform, Instacart emphasized at checkout that “tips are optional. NYC law guarantees delivery drivers a minimum hourly rate.”
PRICES ARE STEADYING AND WAGES ARE CLIMBING, NEW DOORDASH REPORT SHOWS
A look at Instacart’s scan and pay technology. (Instacart / Fox News)
Since 2024, Instacart has issued multiple warnings while the measure was under consideration, asserting that the new ordinance would lead to skyrocketing grocery costs and limit access to delivery services.
Former Mayor Eric Adams, who vetoed the measures last year, also voiced concerns, especially given that many New Yorkers—particularly seniors, SNAP or EBT recipients, and individuals with disabilities—already face food insecurity. Ultimately, the city council overrode Adams’ veto last September.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CART | MAPLEBEAR INC | 37.82 | -0.14 | -0.37% |
New Yorkers quickly took to social media to express their frustration over the company’s new charge this week.
“Instacart charging/offsetting on the consumer a regulatory fee because laws were passed that YOU have to increase YOUR contractors pay is so lowbrow,” one user commented on X Monday. “As if the service fees you charge both patrons & merchants weren’t enough.”
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Other customers mentioned that they have already canceled or plan to cancel their membership following the price increase.
“Adding a fee in the middle of my contract … with the fees outlined should be illegal,” another user stated on Reddit on Tuesday.
FOX Business has reached out to the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for further information.
Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
New Yorkers who have come to rely on the convenience of grocery delivery were taken aback this week when Instacart introduced a new fee on orders. This unexpected charge is linked to a significant city law that took effect on Monday.
Customers will now see an additional fixed fee of $5.99 at checkout, labeled as a “Regulatory Response Fee.”
According to the city’s official website, app-based couriers delivering groceries through third-party platforms like Instacart are now entitled to earn a minimum of $21.44 per hour. This rate aligns with the compensation that has been applicable to restaurant delivery workers, including those working for Uber Eats and DoorDash, since April 2025.
This worker protection measure is set to further increase the minimum wage to $22.13 per hour by April, in response to inflation. Previously, there was no legal minimum specifically for grocery delivery workers.
INSTACART’S AI PRICING EXPERIMENT DRIVES UP COSTS FOR SOME SHOPPERS, STUDY SAYS
A delivery worker picks up Wegmans bags outside a store in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The regulatory response fee is the direct result of the City Council’s misguided and burdensome grocery delivery laws, which took effect this week,” an Instacart spokesperson stated to FOX Business on Wednesday.
They added, “For months, we raised clear, data-backed concerns that the policy would increase grocery delivery costs for New Yorkers, but those warnings were repeatedly ignored. At a time when household budgets are already under strain, the City moved forward with a policy that makes food less affordable and harder to access for the New Yorkers who rely on grocery delivery the most.”
Whole Foods cashier Jason Ellsworth rings up groceries as an Instacart shopper double-checks her smartphone for items ordered. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
At checkout, Instacart also mentioned that the new fee “helps cover increased operating costs in NYC due to government regulations on delivery platforms,” as noted in social media posts.
Additionally, the law mandates that delivery services offer customers a tipping option before checkout, with the default tip set at 10% of the order’s cost. The city stated that these measures aim to address practices that previously hid or delayed tip prompts, which they estimate cost workers over $550 million.
While tipping has always been optional on the platform, Instacart emphasized at checkout that “tips are optional. NYC law guarantees delivery drivers a minimum hourly rate.”
PRICES ARE STEADYING AND WAGES ARE CLIMBING, NEW DOORDASH REPORT SHOWS
A look at Instacart’s scan and pay technology. (Instacart / Fox News)
Since 2024, Instacart has issued multiple warnings while the measure was under consideration, asserting that the new ordinance would lead to skyrocketing grocery costs and limit access to delivery services.
Former Mayor Eric Adams, who vetoed the measures last year, also voiced concerns, especially given that many New Yorkers—particularly seniors, SNAP or EBT recipients, and individuals with disabilities—already face food insecurity. Ultimately, the city council overrode Adams’ veto last September.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CART | MAPLEBEAR INC | 37.82 | -0.14 | -0.37% |
New Yorkers quickly took to social media to express their frustration over the company’s new charge this week.
“Instacart charging/offsetting on the consumer a regulatory fee because laws were passed that YOU have to increase YOUR contractors pay is so lowbrow,” one user commented on X Monday. “As if the service fees you charge both patrons & merchants weren’t enough.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Other customers mentioned that they have already canceled or plan to cancel their membership following the price increase.
“Adding a fee in the middle of my contract … with the fees outlined should be illegal,” another user stated on Reddit on Tuesday.
FOX Business has reached out to the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for further information.
