You Can Place A Pickup Order At Kroger, But It May Cost You

When it comes to grocery shopping, convenience is king. Large grocery store chains like Kroger offer several different ways to get your groceries in addition to in-store shopping. Kroger offers Pickup services for free — but only if you place an order of $35 or more.

Kroger is known for its heavy discounts, coupons, and solid rewards programs, but while the savings are hard to beat, you'll want to plan ahead before you make your next round of grocery shopping into a Pickup order, lest you pay the $4.95 service fee. That fee can be avoided by aiming for an order over $35. If you shop at Kroger and want to take advantage of the Pickup order system, maybe wait until you need to order your weekly groceries to try it out. Kroger also offers its own home delivery service in many locations across the country — again, for a fee — so you may want to weigh the pros and cons of picking up an order versus opting for delivery.

If you do decide to order for Pickup, you don't have to physically go into the store. Order your items online, then select the store you want to pick the items up from, pick a time slot, then drive to the store. You'll have to park at the designated Pickup area. If you pay with a credit or debit card online, be sure to bring that form of payment with you to the store. For most Kroger stores, you can order Pickup between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., but hours may vary depending on the store.

Grocery pick-up is perfect if you've had a long day at work, if you're feeling under the weather, or if you have mobility issues. Other major grocery store chains have competitive pick-up options compared to Kroger's service. Target, for one, has free in-store and drive-up services. Target not only lets you order groceries for pick-up, but you can shop most of its other products as well, from home decor to clothing, all in one order.

Wegmans is another store to consider for grocery pick-up, especially because pick-up is always free — some items are slightly upcharged for pick-up compared to in-store shopping, however. Wegmans will also hold your delivery from the time it's ready until the end of the workday, whereas Kroger gives customers a one-hour window to collect. Other chains like Walmart offer fee-free curbside pickup, with an order minimum, like Kroger's, set at $35. If you're in the South and want to order groceries for pick-up, Publix is a great option, as it offers free in-store pick-up that you can pay for either in-store or online.

Keep in mind that you don't have to order pick-up groceries, though, and can easily order them to be delivered to your door. While you can order groceries through delivery apps like Doordash, which recently expanded its list of grocery delivery services, many supermarkets will let you order items to be delivered straight to your home.