In a Nutshell
pros
- Tens of thousands of items at bulk pricing
- Lots of items eligible for free shipping
- Club member perks
cons
- Have to be a Sam’s Club member to use
- Not all items are available for delivery
- Instacart delivery information not readily available
Sam’s Club at a Glance
Services offered: In-store, full-service online shopping, delivery
Price per delivery: Varies depending on order, location, and membership tier
Delivery options: From one-hour
Subscription options: Regular membership, plus membership
What’s Unique About Sam’s Club?
If you’re looking for bulk shopping, great savings, and an overall fun shopping experience, where do you go? Sam’s Club, of course. And you’ll be happy to hear that the same positive remarks have been extended to the online grocery delivery service. While you’ll miss out on the oohs and ahhs of browsing through the seemingly endless aisles within the massive warehouse, the online experience certainly delivers convenience, excellent prices, and variety galore. Beyond this, here are a few perks that I think make Sam’s Club a cut above the rest:
- Bulk shopping
What most people love about Sam’s Club is that you can get your favorite foods in large quantities. This is great not only because once you pop, you just can’t stop. But it’s also wonderful because as your quantity size goes up, your price per unit goes down. So you get to save on the items you buy most frequently anyway. Sam’s Club is great about showing you how much you can save. And I love that it has the price per unit written for each item. So you can really see how much things cost and how much you can save versus the more traditional supermarkets.
It is worth noting, though, that some items may incur a markup on the online version. It’s not clear which items and how much.
- Membership benefits
In addition to being a part of the cool kids club, Sam’s Club memberships come with some great perks like discounts on gas, tire and battery center checkups, and cashback with all Sam’s Club MasterCard purchases. Plus members get even more benefits, but I’ll talk about that in a minute.
- Lightning-fast delivery
Finally, what really blew me away was the speed of delivery. Partnering with Instacart allows Sam’s Club to offer one-hour deliveries. That’s faster than any other online grocery delivery service out there.
How It Works
Shopping online isn’t like shopping in Sam’s Club stores, but if you’re strapped for time it’s a great way to get the groceries you need delivered to your door without the hassle. Here’s how it works:
- Create an account
You don’t have to sign in or create an account to start shopping. But if you want to utilize your membership benefits, create lists, or add things to favorites, you’ll need to be logged in. Plus, once you want to check out, you’ll need to sign in. So you might as well do it from the start. It’s also worth noting that you need to be a Sam’s Club member in order to take advantage of the Sam’s Club online grocery delivery services. When you create an account, Sam’s Club will ask you for your membership number and the zip code or phone number it has on file.
- Get shopping
Now you can start your grocery shopping. Sam’s Club literally has tens of thousands of items. So this might be the hardest part, not buying everything in the store! A good idea is to come in with a list already prepared. Sam’s Club actually makes this part easier for you by allowing you to create digital lists of items you buy frequently and want to buy again. You can click on the list icon for each product, create multiple lists, and save items for later. It’s all very smooth and well done.
- Check out
Once you’re done shopping, you can enter your details like delivery address, coupon codes, and payment details. Choose your delivery window, and wait for your products to arrive.
Pricing
Regular Club Membership
Cash rewards
Complimentary membership
Sam’s Club is all about the discounts. You can get loads of products and pay significantly less than in a regular grocery store. You’ll need to be a member to take advantage of this service, though. Sam’s Club offers two membership tiers. Regular club members pay $45 annually and get a bunch of perks like free flat tire repair, special discounts, and 1% cashback on purchases using your Sam’s Club MasterCard. You’ll also receive 5% cashback on gas purchases for the first year and 3% cashback on dining. Best of all, you can receive free shipping, but it’s not always a given.
Meanwhile, Plus members get free shipping on the majority of items in the store and a lot more benefits. For example, Plus members also enjoy perks like 2% cashback rewards on most purchases (up to $500 a year) for general purchases, five free prescriptions, 600+ generic prescriptions for $10 or less, and up to 16 add-ons to their memberships for $40. MasterCard purchases cashback is also boosted to 3% rather than 1% for the regular members. Plus membership costs $100 a year.
Sam’s Club has lots of delivery options and a pickup option as well. And while it’s not relevant for online shopping, members can also take advantage of the convenient scan and go payment method when they’re shopping in-store.
Help & Support
Sam’s Club has a massive help center on the website. Additionally, you can reach out via phone, using the live chat function, or on social media outlets.
Phone Support
1 (888) 746-7726
Bottom Line
Sam’s Club has always been a favorite for people who love big bulk shopping, an exciting array of options, and deep discounts on all the items they’re already buying. The online experience has been just as much fun as the in-store option. Sam’s Club provides lots of delivery options, and the same quality discounts apply. I like that you can still get all the perks of a regular or plus membership even though you're not in the store, and Sam’s Club certainly heaps on the perks.
