Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards Forces Instacart to Remove Priority Access in the City

At Instacart, we regularly introduce new ways to support and reward the shoppers who pick, pack, and deliver groceries to families across the communities we serve. That's why we invested heavily over the last few years in Cart Star – a rewards program designed to recognize and celebrate the dedicated shoppers who provide excellent service to customers every day.

Cart Star offers shoppers tangible benefits to support what they've told us matters most: priority access to batches, cash back on gas through our Shopper Rewards Card, backup care services through Care.com, oil change discounts via CarAdvise, and more. These rewards recognize the work shoppers do while giving them more flexibility and support in their day-to-day lives.

Unfortunately, the City of Seattle is requiring Instacart to eliminate Cart Star’s priority access benefit, with the city’s Office of Labor Standards claiming that it violates the App-Based Worker ordinance. We strongly disagree with this interpretation, but we are committed to compliance. 

As a direct result of the Office of Labor Standards’ decision, Seattle shoppers will lose priority access beginning February 25, 2026.

For shoppers in Seattle, this means priority access to batches will no longer be available in the city, even though we know this is a benefit shoppers overwhelmingly value, with over 75% of Seattle shoppers viewing it favorably based on a 2025 survey.

The Broader Harm to Shoppers & Customers in Seattle

This action is just the latest in a list of harms caused by Seattle's heavy-handed regulatory approach. According to a recent independent study, the city's PayUp ordinance, which went into effect in early 2024, led to a 25% drop in total delivery orders, costing local businesses $17.6 million over just the first 13 weeks post-implementation. Driver earnings fell 28% per hour. 

We’ve seen that when well-intentioned regulations don't account for how platform economics actually work, shoppers, small businesses, and customers all suffer.

What This Means Going Forward

Starting February 25, Seattle batches – those shopped or delivered within city limits – will no longer include priority access. Those batches will still count towards Cart Star eligibility using the defined criteria of batches shopped, customer rating, and shopping quality score. But within Seattle, a shopper who would otherwise qualify for priority access will no longer receive that priority access. 

This does not impact batches shopped and delivered outside Seattle city limits – those batches will still receive priority access as normal, and shoppers who shop and deliver outside Seattle will still benefit from the enhanced priority access perks we’re rolling out nationwide, including the ability for Diamond Cart shoppers to see batches before stores open.

We believe shoppers deserve to be rewarded for excellence and quality. While we're disappointed by this outcome and the Seattle Office of Labor Standards’ actions, we remain committed to advocating for policies that actually support the shoppers, customers, and small businesses that depend on our platform.