In a Nutshell
pros
- Lots of savings, discounts, and coupons
- Freshness checks frequently run on produce
- Flexible delivery options
cons
- Higher than usual delivery fee
- Delivery is not available everywhere in the US
- Eligibility for delivery only shown at checkout
Kroger at a Glance
Services offered: In-store, online shopping, curbside pickup, delivery, shipping
Price per delivery: $9.95-$11.95, free over $35, and third-party sellers
Delivery options: Within 2 hours, same-day, next day, scheduled
Subscription options: Rewards points opt-in
What’s Unique About Kroger?
Kroger already has a lot going for it with a great website, a tremendous array of products, and customer-friendly support. Here are a few more things I like about using this online grocery delivery service:
- Lots of delivery options
Kroger has plenty of options when it comes to deliveries. For one thing, you can schedule deliveries in advance. So if you have an event coming up or just want to get your shopping done early, Kroger can accommodate that. You can also get things really fast with two-day, next-day, and same-day delivery options. In fact, you can get things within two hours or less. Kroger even has an uber-cool self-driving delivery unit that automates the delivery process even more. (that’ll cost $5.95 for delivery). And I love that Kroger offers several time slots for each day, not limiting you to a few like some other delivery services do.
- Community Rewards
If you’re into giving back, then Kroger is a good online grocery delivery service for you. Every time you use your shopper’s card, Kroger will make a donation to the organization of your choice. The more you shop, the more gets donated.
- Points system
Kroger also has a loyalty program that gives you points for shopping. In fact, you can get cashback when you shop for specific items in the store. Then you can use your rewards to get discounts on groceries, or, better yet, you can transfer it out to your PayPal account.
- Shopping Lists
Another feature that I like using is the shopping lists one. You can select items to put onto your shopping list, designate amounts, and have a convenient auto-shopping option for future purchases. You can’t like specific items, a feature Kroger might want to consider adding in the future, but you can make as many lists as you want. So you can create a list of the items you usually purchase and then reorder them easily with the click of a button.
How It Works
Shopping on Kroger.com is very convenient. The site is clean and well-organized, and everything is easy to find. Kroger also has an easy search feature if you want a specific item or don’t know where to look. Let’s take a quick run-through of the online shopping process with Kroger:
- Sign up for an account
Before you start shopping, you’ll need a Kroger account. This includes adding your email, password, and delivery address. You can also set up your account with preferences now or opt to set things up later. Preferences include things like when you want to get emails and texts and which store you prefer to have as your go-to. You can also see various details on your accounts page, like points summary and community rewards.
- Start shopping
Kroger created a really great online experience. The departments are all listed on the left-hand nav, so you can quickly access your go-to aisles. There’s also a rotating display showing the latest deals if you want to grab a quick deal. I also really like that each item has the availability options clearly displayed on the bottom (in-store, pickup, delivery, ship). This is good because, with many other online grocery delivery services, delivery options are somewhat confusing. This makes it very clear what’s available where.
Of course, before you start shopping, make sure to select the delivery filter. That way, you only see the items available for delivery. That is unless you plan to go into the store or swing by to pick up your grocery items. You can use other filters as well, including departments, brands, and nutritional information.
- Add items to your cart
As you find items you like, you can quickly add them to the cart with the instant add to cart button. You can also indicate quantities of an item on the same screen.
- Check out
When you’re finished shopping, you can proceed to the checkout screen. Here you’ll see a breakdown of which items are available for delivery, pickup, or shipping. You can switch items around, add more, and opt into substitutions at this stage too.
- Choose a delivery time
When all is to your satisfaction, you can pick your delivery date and time. You’ll notice that there are many time slots available, and you can click to see even more. Kroger makes it simple by giving you a two-hour window. So you aren’t waiting at home all day for your groceries.
From there, you can just add your payment details and have your groceries delivered.
Pricing
Kroger offers competitive prices on its grocery items, and you can also get a lot of discounts. Kroger also has some excellent deals, including digital coupons you can clip, weekly specials, and an ongoing sale of buy 5, get $1 off for each item. That’s some good savings right there. The delivery fee is slightly higher than with other online grocery delivery services, and there’s not an easy way to waive this fee.
Kroger’s rewards program is great, though. You can earn real cash back, something almost no other online grocery delivery service has to offer. And you can also get points for gas, though Kroger isn’t as forthcoming with that information unless you ask. I don’t like that the default setting for your checkout page is to give a specified tip amount of 5.4%. I’m all for giving a tip, but I like to be the one to decide how much and when. You can change this upon checkout, though.
Help & Support
Kroger offers phone, email, and live chat support. There’s also a great help center on the site with answers to most of your questions. Additionally, I found the service very helpful, quickly providing answers to my questions and being straightforward about policies (even when they weren’t the answers I wanted to hear). Kroger gets big points for transparency, good user experience, and helpful customer support.
Phone Support:
1-800-KRO-GERS
(1-800-576-4377)
Hours of Operation
Mon-Fri, 7am - Midnight, EST
Sat-Sun, 7am - 9:30pm, EST
Bottom Line
Kroger offers a great online grocery delivery service. The website is smooth sailing with smart categorization, easy navigation, and instant add-to-cart features. I also like that Kroger has plenty of easily accessible information. The delivery fee is a little higher than usual, and Kroger doesn’t deliver everywhere in the US. But the prices are good, deals are frequent, and the loyalty program really gives a lot of value to this service.
