Instacart User Behavior Analysis
Introduction
Instacart is an online grocery service with strong sales performance. This analysis was conducted to uncover customer behavior patterns, support marketing segmentation, and guide strategic decisions.
Goal: Perform an initial data and exploratory analysis of Instacart’s customer and order data to derive insights and suggest segmentation strategies.
Role: Data Analyst
Stakeholders: CareerFoundry Instructor
View Final Report
Data and Skills
Data Summary:
- Final merged dataset: 32,434,489 rows and 33 columns
- Includes customer demographics, order history, product details, and regional groupings across the U.S.
- Data was merged and processed in Python
Skills Used:
- Python (Pandas, NumPy, Seaborn), Jupyter Notebook
- Merged and cleaned large datasets
- Created derived columns and grouped variables
- Generated visualizations and population-based summaries
- Final report created using Excel
Project Planning
Data Source: Instacart’s open grocery order dataset
Tools Used: Python (Pandas, NumPy, Seaborn), Jupyter Notebook
Steps Taken:
- Combined multiple CSVs (orders, products, departments, etc.)
- Cleaned and joined datasets to analyze customer behavior
- Explored order frequency, product popularity, and segmentation
- Visualized trends by day, hour, price range, and demographics
- Identified high-value opportunities for targeted marketing
Challenges and Solutions
| Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
| Large dataset (32M+ rows) | Used chunk loading and sampling in Pandas |
| Complex table relationships | Merged using product/order/customer IDs |
| Difficult-to-spot segments | Grouped by behavior (cart size, order time, income) |
Key Insights
Order Timing Patterns
Insights:
- Saturday is the busiest day; Sunday and Friday follow
- Peak hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; slowest are 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Price Sensitivity
Insights:
- Most products purchased are under $15
- Price is highest between 3–4 a.m., and lowest around 9–10 a.m.
Customer Demographics
Insights:
- Higher incomes observed in customers over 40
- Most users are married, especially in adult and senior age groups
Conclusions and Recommendations
Sales and Marketing Insights – Instacart
Timing Strategy:
- Avoid outreach during peak hours (9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sat–Sun)
- Target quieter periods (Tues–Wed, outside 9–4)
- Promote high-value items during peak spending windows: 2–4 a.m. and 9–11 p.m., especially weekends
Pricing Insights:
- Most purchases are under $15. Suggested price brackets:
- $0–5
- $5–10
- $10–15
Target Demographics:
- Income: Focus premium campaigns on $100K–$300K earners; higher spenders are often 40+
- Family: Target adults managing dependents (under 20 or over 60)
- Marital Status: Prioritize campaigns for married, senior, and adult customers