Shopper Transparency Calculator 2.0

Screenshot of SMS chatbot developed for Shipt Shoppers to calculate wages.

The Shipt Transparency Calculator is part of an effort to gain insight about the ways that Shipt's new payment algorithm impacts worker pay. Shipt's original algorithm (which we call "V1") was clear: Shoppers received 7.5% of the total order amount plus $5. Shipt's new algorithm, "V2", is not clear. We don't know exactly how payment is calculated, and it often pays workers much less than they would have received under V1. As Shipt rolls out the new algorithm in cities across the country, we're gathering data to learn more about how V2 affects workers and their compensation to support efforts for transparency and fairness.

You’ve been invited to help test the beta version of the calculator.

 

*A new version of the bot, that fixed all major bugs was released on August 20, 2020.*

To get started, send any message to (202) 519-1587, or click the "Get Started" button above. (Standard message and data rates apply.)

You’ll be invited to respond with the name of the Metro you primarily shop in, and then invited to share a screenshot of your shop history. Screenshots can contain multiple shops. (See the screenshot example on this page.) For now, send no more than 3 screenshots at a time to avoid long response times. 

Once you’ve sent data for at least 10 shops, you’ll be able to access the full functionality of the Shipt Transparency Calculator. You can send the following messages to execute a variety of commands.

  • MORE - Displays the main menu
  • ABOUT - Displays more information about the project
  • CONTACT - Puts you in touch with the team behind the project
  • STOP - Stops all texts from the calculator
  • PAY - Displays your average pay, and explains how it compares to V1
  • METRO - Tells you the average pay per shop in your Metro
  • TIPS - Displays your average tip, and the percentage of your pay that tips account for
  • DELETE - Deletes all of your data and clears your history completely
  • EXPORT - Sends a link to download all of your data in a .csv in order to perform your own analysis.

 

To help us test the app and collect as much data as possible, please send us as many shop receipts as you can! We’re currently collecting data from 2020 onward, so anything from January of this year forward is helpful, though we are most interested in collecting data from V2 shops.

Any phone number you use with the Shipt Transparency Calculator will remain private and will not - under any circumstances - be shared with a third party. Data you submit to the calculator will be used for research purposes only and will not be traceable to you or your phone number.

To report any bugs, request features, or if you have any questions at all, contact Drew Ambrogi at [email protected].

Example of a usable screenshot.
Example of a usable screenshot.

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