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 & 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 & 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. (10:00) to 4 p.m. (16:00); slowest are 12 a.m. (00:00) to 5 a.m. (05:00)
###Price Sensitivity
Insights:
- Most products purchased are under $15
- Price is highest 3–4 a.m. (03:00-04:00), lowest around 9–10 a.m. (09:00-10:00)
###Customer Demographics
Insights:
- Higher incomes observed in customers over 40
- Most users are married, especially in adult/middle-age/senior brackets
##Conclusions & Recommendations
Sales & 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