Gelson's Online Grocery Shopping FAQ

For existing Gelson’s Shopping/Rewards accounts:
Please use your Gelson’s Rewards account to log in to the Gelson’s Shopping site at shop.gelsons.com. Once you log in to shop.gelsons.com, you will automatically receive any available rewards and points for the transaction. You will not need to add any information. Important: If you already have a Gelson’s Rewards and Gelson’s Shopping account (not applicable if you use Instacart.com or the Instacart app) your email address and password must be the same for both sites in order to receive your Gelson’s Rewards. If you need to update your email address please contact us via the email or phone listed below. You can also change your password on gelsons.com or shop.gelsons.com and it will update for both websites.
For new Gelson’s Shopping/Rewards accounts:
When you sign up, your email address and password will need to be used to access your rewards on gelsons.com and to shop on shop.gelsons.com. 
To update your email address and for assistance with your Gelson’s Rewards account please contact us at <a href="mailto:gelsonsrewards@gelsons.com">gelsonsrewards@gelsons.com</a> or call 818-995-9370.

How do I use my Gelson’s Rewards when I shop?

You can download our Gelson’s Rewards &amp; Shopping app from the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gelsons-rewards/id1584862436" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">App Store</a> or <a href="https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Gelson%27s&amp;c=apps&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gl=US" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Play</a>. You can use the app to shop as well as view your rewards information, and more.

How do I shop using the Gelson’s App?

1) Go to your Account (person icon on the right top of the screen to the right of the Sales Flyer button).
2) Click on Credits, promos, and gift cards.
3) Add your gift card number(s) and you will see the available amount below that.
4) When you are on the checkout page, select your delivery time first, then under "Pay With" check the box that shows "Use $xx.xx Instacart credits".
Once you do this, you will see the credit amount on the right side showing as "Instacart credits applied".

How do I use my Instacart gift card for payment?

<ul>
 <li>You can either search for a specific item you’re looking for or browse by department. We also make recommendations based on what you bought before.</li>
 <li>Add items to your cart by tapping or clicking +Add or Add to Cart. You can also adjust the item quantity by using the + or - buttons.</li>
 <li>You can check what’s in your cart anytime while you’re shopping by clicking or tapping the shopping basket button. You can see the next available delivery time, as well as the amount needed to reach any order minimums. You can also view your item total, adjust quantities, or remove items from your cart.</li>
 <li>When you’re ready to check out, visit your cart and tap or click the Checkout button. You’ll be asked to add a delivery address and your payment information. Then, go ahead and place your order! Your groceries will be on their way in no time. Or you can place your delivery for up to 5 days from now.</li>
</ul>

How do I place an order?

Not able to find an item you’re looking for in our inventory? Here are a couple things to try. Use the search box on the website. Sometimes searching for one keyword (for example, searching for “watermelon” instead of “watermelon slices”) can help.

Can’t find an item?

It’s easy to track your order, from the moment your personal shopper starts finding your items until the moment it arrives at your door or is ready for pickup at one of our stores.
Order status
To check your order status on the website:
<ul>
 <li>Click account</li>
 <li>Click Order History</li>
 <li>Click on an order to view its status</li>
</ul>
Tracking your order in progress
If you have text message notifications enabled, you’ll receive a message when your personal shopper begins working on your order.
<ul>
 <li>Click Account &gt; Order History</li>
 <li>Click on Current order to see Shopped Items and to view items already found and changes like replacements and refunds.</li>
 <li>You can Approve changes or choose Other options for each item.</li>
</ul>
Want to chat with your shopper? Click the Chat link at the top of the screen to let them know if you want to add items to your order or make other changes.
Tracking your delivery in progress
When it’s time for delivery, you’ll receive a text message that includes an estimated time of arrival. If you don’t have text messaging enabled, you can go online or use our app to track your delivery.
Need to give your driver last-minute delivery instructions? Click Chat with shopper. (For safety reasons, drivers might not reply while they’re en route.)

Tracking your order and delivery

Ordering alcohol
Alcohol delivery is available from all Gelson’s locations. 
Some legal restrictions apply to alcohol orders:
<ul>
 <li>Customers must be 21 or older to order alcohol items and provide an approved photo ID showing their birthdate at delivery.</li>
 <li>Alcohol special requests cannot be added to orders.</li>
 <li>If an alcohol item is out of stock, your shopper will contact you to get approval for a replacement. Otherwise, they’ll refund the items.</li>
 <li>Shoppers can only add alcohol to replace other alcoholic items.</li>
</ul>
Alcohol delivery
Shoppers must deliver to recipients that are 21 or older and will verify your age and scan your ID when they deliver. Your information isn’t stored on shoppers’ personal devices. Some states require a signature before the alcohol can be delivered.
Special restrictions include:
<ul>
 <li>We can’t deliver alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons or leave alcohol unattended.</li>
 <li>We can’t deliver alcohol if the customer doesn’t meet all delivery requirements. In these cases, we refund the alcohol and return it to the store.</li>
</ul>
Valid forms of identification (ID)
These are the accepted forms of valid ID for alcohol deliveries:
<ul>
 <li>United States-issued driver's license with photo</li>
 <li>United States-issued military ID</li>
 <li>State-issued identification card</li>
</ul>

Alcohol Policies

If your personal shopper hasn’t begun your order, you can update your order in the Order page. If your shopper has already started working on your order, you can chat with them for assistance.
Add a new item
To add an item to your order:
<ul>
 <li>Go to Account → Order History</li>
 <li>Click on current order, add to order</li>
 <li>Search each item you want to add</li>
 <li>Click + sign to add to cart</li>
 <li>Follow prompts for confirmation</li>
</ul>
To make changes to your current order
<ul>
 <li>Go to Account → Order History</li>
 <li>Click on current order</li>
 <li>In the item list, select the item you want to adjust the quantity on</li>
 <li>On this item, click the number and adjust as you like</li>
</ul>
Approving order changes
You can select other options for replacements or choose a refund for the item instead.
To see items your shopper has already located
<ul>
 <li>Click Account</li>
 <li>Click Your orders</li>
 <li>Select your current order</li>
 <li>Click See Shopped Items</li>
 <li>If you approve the change, click Approve</li>
 <li>If you prefer another option, click Other options…</li>
 <li>Don’t see the option you prefer? Just click Chat at the top of the screen to talk to your shopper.</li>
 <li>When shopping is complete, you can click See Shopped items again to view all the completed changes and items in your order.</li>
</ul>

How do I make order changes?

Receive a delivery or pickup order you’re not completely satisfied with? In most cases, we can make things right quickly.
On the website, you can let Instacart know about:
<ul>
 <li>Missing items</li>
 <li>Incorrect items</li>
 <li>Damaged items</li>
 <li>Poor replacements</li>
 <li>Late orders</li>
</ul>
You’ll get an email confirmation right away for any credits or refunds, and Instacart will let you know as soon as any other issues are resolved. Refund and credit amounts vary.
It’s easy to track your order, from the moment your personal shopper starts finding your items until the moment it arrives at your door.

What do I do if I have a problem with my order?

To check your order status on the website
<ul>
 <li>Click Your orders</li>
 <li>Click on an order to view its status</li>
</ul>
Tracking your order in progress
If you have text message notifications enabled, you’ll receive a message when your personal shopper begins working on your order.
<ul>
 <li>Click Account &gt; Your orders</li>
 <li>Click See Shopped Items to view items already found and changes like replacements and refunds.</li>
 <li>You can Approve changes or choose Other options for each item.</li>
</ul>
Receiving your delivery
After the items in your order have been picked and packed, a personal shopper starts the delivery process. In some cases, the person who shops your order may not be the one who delivers it.
To make sure you get your delivery as scheduled, we recommend:
<ul>
 <li>Keeping an eye out for text messages and phone calls from the delivery driver</li>
 <li>Leaving helpful instructions for parking, gate codes, or other clues to find your home.</li>
</ul>
Tracking your delivery in progress
When it’s time for delivery, you’ll receive a text message. If you click the link in the text message, the delivery screen includes an estimated time of arrival and a map you can tap to follow the driver’s progress. You can also use that page to chat with the shopper if you need to provide last-minute delivery instructions. (For safety reasons, drivers might not reply while they’re en route.)
Driver can’t find your location
If the delivery driver can’t find your location, they’ll try to get in touch with you via text message or phone call before taking further action. Unless you specifically request for them to do so, drivers are unable to leave an order unattended.
When a member can’t be found or contacted for an extended period of time, the order may be canceled.
Unavailable to receive delivery
In the case that you can’t be there to receive your delivery in person, we recommend first reaching out to a friend or neighbor to get it for you. Just let the driver know of the change by adding a note in the delivery instructions or sending them a message through the website.
Alternatively, you can check the box for Leave at My Door Delivery at checkout. You can leave additional instructions for your shopper and receive a photo confirmation once your groceries have been delivered.
Payment Issues
The only transaction needed to pay for your Instacart order and adjust the shopper's tip takes place in the Instacart app. External payments such as cash, checks, or third-party apps (Venmo, Zelle, etc.) are not necessary. Sorry, but we cannot accept Gelson’s Gift Cards for payment. 
If you or your shopper experience issues paying for your order, please reach out for help through your Instacart app. All payments take place within the app, and you're not required to reimburse your shopper for any reason.

How do I check my order status?

Add instructions for how you want your order shopped and/or delivered. Through instructions, you can let your shopper know that you prefer greener bananas or help them find the apartment to drop off your order.
Item instructions
You can add item instructions from your cart, on the checkout page, or even after you place your order (but only before it’s been shopped).
<ul>
 <li>From your cart: Click or tap Instructions on the item for which you’d like to leave a note</li>
 <li>From the checkout page: Click or tap Review to review items and add instructions</li>
 <li>After you ordered: Visit the Order page to review your items and add any instructions</li>
</ul>
Item instructions carry over to future orders. If your item preferences change, make sure to review your notes when ordering the same items in the future.
During checkout, you can request the order be left at your door if you're not around. This option will notify the shopper it’s an unattended delivery and prompt them to take a picture of the order at your door before they leave.
<ul>
 <li>Please note— If you choose for your order to be left unattended, you accept full responsibility for the order after it has been delivered, including any loss due to theft or temperature sensitivity damage. If you ordered alcohol, someone age 21+ must be there to receive it, therefore we cannot leave it unattended and the alcohol will be returned to the store. </li>
</ul>
Replacement instructions
Items may be out of stock. When this happens, you have 3 options:
<ul>
 <li>Find Best Match: Your shopper selects the best possible replacement. This is the default option for when items aren’t available.</li>
 <li>Pick Specific Replacement: To select your own replacement, tap or click on the item, then select Pick Specific Replacement. You can search the catalog or choose a replacement from a list of suggestions.</li>
 <li>Don’t Replace: If you prefer not to replace an item, choose Don’t Replace to get a refund instead.</li>
</ul>
Keep in mind you’ll be refunded or charged for the difference in price for replacement items.
If you have order notifications turned on, look for alerts when an item is replaced or refunded.

How do I add instructions for specific items and/or replacements?

Refunds and cancellations are subject to certain conditions. Please read carefully to understand our policies.
Refunds
To request a refund for any reason, you must make your request within 7 days of delivery.
Please let us know as soon as possible if your order:
<ul>
 <li>Is missing items that you were charged for on the final receipt</li>
 <li>Contains damaged, spoiled, or otherwise unusable items.</li>
</ul>
Refunds are processed immediately, but it may take 5-10 business days to see the funds in your bank or credit card account, depending on your bank. You won't see refunds in your Instacart account.
You can see any Instacart credits in the Credits, promos &amp; gift cards section of your Instacart account. Credits will automatically apply during checkout on your next order
Returns
You have the option of taking the item back to Gelson’s with your digital receipt. The return will be subject to Gelson’s’s return policies.
Canceling an order
You can cancel an order for a full refund without any additional fees at any time before a shopper begins shopping.
The process is simple on a browser or in the app:
<ul>
 <li>Select Account → Order History</li>
 <li>Select the order you’d like to cancel</li>
 <li>On the Order page, select Cancel order</li>
</ul>
When you cancel an order during the shopping or delivery processes, you may be charged a cancellation fee of up to $15. To cancel after shopping has begun, reach out to Instacart Support at <a href="tel:+18882467822">1-888-246-7822</a>.