Talk to me about grocery curbside pickup?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Wait is delivery free from Whole Foods if you're an amazon subscriber or is that an additional cost? We don't shop at Whole Foods much ours is not conveniently located and it tend to think of it as expensive but I kind of want to check it out again. I haven't ever tried shopping it for sales. When our whole family was gluten/casein free we shopped there all the time! (That was a long time ago and we've moved since!) That might make me reconsider a prime membership.

All these cross connected benefits!

It's a free prime benefit. They do suggest tipping your delivery person but it isn't mandatory and delivery is free (most windows- can go up day before a big holiday or if you want a 1 hour instead of a 2 hour window). Tips are automatically added (10%) but you can modify. It is expensive for some things but you do get better quality. I mostly use it for dairy and meat but their store brand (non organic) isn't that badly priced at all for pantry staples.

[carolinacool]

Back in the spring, I did pickup three times at Harris Teeter (chain mostly in the southeast). The first time was free. After that, it's $4.95 an order, although I've been told they run specials every now and then. I don't know. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I found the process of navigating the site, picking what I wanted, writing notes, etc. to be more effort than just going in the store. I did spend less. I'm not great about making lists, though, so sometimes just going up and down the aisles, or even just seeing the signs for each aisle reminds me "Oh yeah, I need pancake syrup."

I would presume it gets easier once you build up a big list of things you normally buy, so you're not doing a lot of hunting and pecking for individual items.

[smilequeen]

I do instacart all.the.time. But delivery, not pick up. Such a positive change in my schedule. I usually have them shopping while I'm working out and get my food before I shower. Saves me so much time. Since they dropped Whole Foods I'm going to have to try the Whole Foods version. They've done a good job with produce so far and I always get a text if they need to substitute something.

[NCGrandma]

I do instacart all.the.time. But delivery, not pick up. Such a positive change in my schedule. I usually have them shopping while I'm working out and get my food before I shower. Saves me so much time. Since they dropped Whole Foods I'm going to have to try the Whole Foods version. They've done a good job with produce so far and I always get a text if they need to substitute something.

It’s been a while since I’ve used Instacart but I had no idea they had dropped WF. And the stores they list for delivery in my area include several that have no nearby locations. Delivery in one hour from Wegmans? I don’t think so! The nearest one is more than 30 miles away!

Oh, and WF/Amazon only offers me the opportunity to request an invitation for free delivery!! Yep, I’ve had Prime for years, but apparently I can’t yet get delivery from WF because too many others already use it.

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[azzeps]

Do you have Kroger stores? I use Fred Meyer ClickList nearly every week! It is absolutely worth the $5 it costs to have someone else do the shopping. They text me with any substitutions ahead of time, and anything can be refused when they bring it out to the car. It could be I'm not that picky because I really, really don't enjoy walking around the store to pick my own stuff! Totally worth the 5 bucks, in my opinion!

[bisous]

Do you have Kroger stores? I use Fred Meyer ClickList nearly every week! It is absolutely worth the $5 it costs to have someone else do the shopping. They text me with any substitutions ahead of time, and anything can be refused when they bring it out to the car. It could be I'm not that picky because I really, really don't enjoy walking around the store to pick my own stuff! Totally worth the 5 bucks, in my opinion!

Ooh! I didn’t think I did but I do! Ralph’s is a Kroger store and it’s my nearest market. I’ll check that out!

[hwin708]

When I put my zip code in for Curbside Pickup for Walmart the nearest one was over one hour away NOT in traffic and that’s just not going to work for me. I wonder if it’s glitchy? Walmart just doesn’t have the same status in CA that it does elsewhere in the country I think.

Lots of Walmarts still don't have curbside pickup. They have to change the layout of the parking lots, which is easier for some stores than others.

I use a local store for delivery, but I have used Walmart pickup for various things in the past. I am not a list maker either, but I actually think the app-based systems are ideal for that. They remember what you've bought in the past, so it becomes easy over time to quickly restock the things you need, and simply add on the things you need right now. You pay the same price as in-store, and they will even refund you if the price drops before pickup. And the system at Walmart is VERY easy. They come out with your stuff in under 5 minutes, and you can just pop your trunk and they will load it all in. Plus they are not allowed to take tips, so I never have to worry about having cash. All in all, I would say the Walmart pickup definitely saves time and money without any catches. (Though I hate the substitutions and opted out)

But that is definitely not true of every service. Instacart definitely is notorious for marking up the prices on items, so if you are buying a lot, you could be unknowingly paying a "fee" of over $20. But that markup varies WILDLY by area. So you really do have to research each option for your specific area.

[gatorsmom]

When we first moved to St. Paul, we fell in love with Simon Delivers. They had a fantastic grocery delivery service. The prices were reasonable and with 4 kids age 5 and under and a husband who traveled all the time, they were life-savers.

The closest thing we have to that now is a service curb-side service. We have Target, Walmart and a couple of local grocery store services. I find I make fewer impulse purchases and would rather look online for a product than run up and down aisles. The one I use most often costs $5 percent which is fine considering I typically save money shopping this way.

[Kestrel]

I love my Fred Meyer (Kroger) curbside pick up!

They divide the site into parts - a "start my cart" with your 50 or so most often purchased items. (Based on your customer loyalty card.) Sometimes, this is not so good... like when peanut M&M's come up as most frequently purchased.... a "my sale items" items you have purchased in the past that are now on sale.... and a "recently purchased. You can just click on the item to add to your cart, so using these, your shopping goes faster the more often you use it. They have regular search functions, too, of course. They also have digital coupons, so you don't have to mess with cutting/remembering them, and they give you extra coupons based on your purchases. They do email or text if they are out of something, but I have found out what days my store gets shipments, so I can order when they are best stocked! But, at least for me, most of my subs are them giving me the larger size when they are out of the smaller one - AND they give me the price of the one I ordered. We always have the option to refuse subs at the car, and they keep them separate so they're not digging through your stuff looking for them. That being said, subs are unusual - less than one in a hundred items, I'd guess.

In any case, I think that between the alerts when items I buy are on sale and coupons, it more than makes up for the 4.95 charge - though I don't like the charge. I'm hoping now that Walmart is free pick up, it will get reduced or waved for orders over $100 or something similar.

[c&j04]

Kroger is free til the end of the year!