After trying out the new service at my local grocery store, I decided to write up a Kroger Clicklist Review. I was not compensated for this post at all, but I thought others might benefit from reading about my experience. Get all the nitty gritty details here!
Kroger Clicklist lets you order all your groceries online from the comfort of home. Then you pickup your groceries without ever leaving your car.
This type of service is becoming popular around the United States. So do some research to see if your local grocery stores provide it yet!
Clicklist has gone through some big changes since it was first introduced in 2016. (In fact, they are now calling it Kroger Pickup instead of Clicklist.)
Is it right for you?
Here’s how to decide.
Here’s A Totally Honest Kroger Clicklist Review
We are always busy, but some weeks are even busier than others.
I was talking about making a late night grocery shopping trip with my Hubby. I hated to do it, since I’ve not been sleeping well lately, but there just wasn’t time during the day.
He suggested trying out the new service offered by our local grocery store. You shop online, then go to the store and they put all the groceries you ordered right into your car.
No need to chase kids through the store or lug a heavy shopping cart from one end of the store to the other.
I thought it was certainly worth trying!
How Kroger Clicklist Works
Start Your List
I already had a Kroger.com account linked to my Kroger card for digital coupons, so I just signed in as usual.
If you don’t have an account, it’s free to sign up. You’ll want to link your Kroger card to your account for the most savings.
Right on Kroger’s home page, you should find options to add items to your online cart.
But if not, you can always click the menu, click “Ways To Shop”. Then choose Pickup.
Assuming that you regularly use your Kroger card, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to shop. Since I like to keep life simple, I have a long list of items I buy every time I go to the store.
The first thing you’ll see is the “Start My Cart” line. That’s filled with things you’ve bought either often or in the past few trips.
So if you always buy bananas, you’ll probably see that right away. Just click “Add to Cart” and choose the number you want.
The next line down is “My Recent Purchases”. This line was good for the things you buy less often, or seasonally.
Below that I found another line titled “My Sale Items”. Always a frugal favorite!
Your Whole Grocery List
Once I had my main grocery list done, I looked over my menu plan. Any things I needed that weren’t already in my cart were pretty easy to add.
I just scrolled to the top and typed in what I needed. It pops up some options and you choose what you want.
You can also choose items from the “Department” drop down menu to add items.
Complete Your Order
Once you complete your order, you’ll have a chance to look it over and make sure that everything is correct. You’ll also have the option to allow them to substitute for items that are out of stock.
If you’re family is particular about certain brands or flavors, you can uncheck that option.
I suggest you let them offer you substitutes for everything. You can always decline them.
Substitutions
When I picked up my order, they had substituted a few things. For instance, I ordered a 40 oz bottle of barbecue sauce.
They were out of that, so they gave me an 80 oz bottle of the same brand at the lower 40 oz price.
So you can see why I’m a fan of letting them substitute stuff.
When you get to the store, they will show you all substitutions. You can always decline them. You never pay for items they don’t have.
Pick Up
Next, you’ll choose a pickup time. Most stores offer same day pickup if you place your order early enough.
Or you can choose an hour that works best for you within the next 7 days.
You will enter your credit card number when you order. They charge this card once you pick up your groceries.
Sometimes a larger hold will be placed on your card than what you expected. Be aware of that!
One Important Note:
The website is not clear on this, and it caused me a bit of headache. The workers shop on the day that you pickup your order.
That means that you’ll pay whatever price your items are on the day you pickup.
Here’s why that can cause problems:
The prices you see on the website are estimates. They give you the sales price for the day you are shopping online.
So if you are online shopping on Tuesday, the site displays the Tuesday sale prices.
The trouble here is that my store switches to a new sales flyer on Wednesday. So if I click on Tuesday and they shop on Wednesday, then I end up paying Wednesday prices when I pickup.
So that awesome deal on Tuesday might not be so awesome on Wednesday.
The trouble is that there is no way of knowing what prices will still be good on Wednesday by looking at their website. I’ve been told the company is still looking into this.
If shopping sales is important to you, don’t place orders across sales dates.
If your store’s sale runs from Sunday to Saturday, don’t online shop on Saturday and pick it up on Sunday or later. Just wait and place your order on Sunday for more accurate prices.
Go Get It!
Be sure to show up at the store during the hour that you promised to show up. If not, you risk losing your entire order and having to start over again.
Once you arrive at the store, look for blue signs that say Kroger Pickup. They’ll point you to the pickup zone.
At the pickup zone, you’ll find a phone number to call and let them know that you’ve arrived. A worker will come to your car to review your order.
Digital coupons work as usual. They do accept paper coupons, but it will take a little longer to check out if you use them.
Then the workers will load your car for you. They even brought my bread up to the front window so it wasn’t squished!
Don’t tip the workers. (In fact, they aren’t even allowed to accept tips for safety purposes.)
Questions and Suggestions
Is there a fee? You may be able to get your first order for free, depending on promotions at the time. After that, there is a $4.95 fee for this service. Fees in your region may vary.
I’m picky. Will they choose good produce and other items? You can add extra instructions. If you prefer your bananas on the green side, you can write that in.
In my experience, I was mostly happy with their produce choices. The tomatoes were a bit more wrinkly than I’d have liked. But since I ordered a lot of produce and that was my only complaint, I’d do it again.
Review Your Order Be sure to go through your entire order. You aren’t charged based on what you ordered, you are charged based on what the worker shopped for.
For instance, I ordered 6 whole chickens. They only gave me one. While I was only charged for one chicken, the missing chicken put a wrinkle in my menu plans and budget.
If you place a large order (in my case, 200 items), don’t expect perfection. After all, I make mistakes when I do this giant shopping trip myself.
When I realized the mistake with the missing chickens, I called the store. They offered me a credit for my extra time and effort to pick up the meat they had missed.
Pros and Cons of Kroger Clicklist
While I can’t say that my experience was perfect, I would do it again.
Pros
- I love the ease of this service! I didn’t have to leave my car at all. If I were pregnant, had sick kids, had all my kids with me, or had an injury this would be perfect. I wish it had been around during all my pregnancies.
- You can’t make impulse buys with this service. What you put in the online cart is what you get. They don’t try to upsell you when you checkout.
- Assuming you stay within the sale period, you can track your spending easily. Just watch the total of your cart each time you add something. Easier than keeping a calculated total in the store!
Cons
- I prefer to make my own choices and to look for other deals while I grocery shop, so I wouldn’t shop this way every time. If you are picky about your fruit or meat, you can leave them a specific note. But ultimately, you are still at the mercy of whoever shops for you.
- I wasn’t able to grab excellent deals on clearance items in the store.
My Verdict
I would not use this service every time I grocery shop. And if charged the $4.95 fee, I would save it for larger purchases to make it worth the fee. I generally prefer to have a bit more control over my shopping.
But during super busy or stressful times, I think this is an awesome service to have available. I definitely will be using it again.
Don’t forget to grab this list of the cheapest foods you can buy!
[schema type=”review” url=”https://www.mediumsizedfamily.com/kroger-clicklist-review-easier-shop-home/” name=”Kroger Clicklist Review: Is It Really Easier to Shop from Home?” description=”Have you wondered what Kroger Clicklist and other shop from home grocery services are all about? Here’s a review of how it works, plus pros and cons.” rev_name=”Kroger Clicklist” author=”Jamie Jeffers” pubdate=”2016-06-27″ ]
Have you used Clicklist or a similar service? What do you think of it?
I totally agree! My daughter eats apples like they’re going out of style, but I only buy organic apples. They couldn’t figure out exactly what I wanted so I would always get 1 apple instead of a bag. I finally wrote it in the comment section and we were successful the next go around. I feel like the $4.95 fee is ok since I’m not throwing extra things in my cart, and I generally end up saving money. Plus I can go in my pajamas 🙂 I’m working nights this week, so while I’m at work tonight, I’m going to hopefully get my order in and pick it up when I wake up.
I agree entirely with your review. I think it’s a great service when you don’t have time (or are sick, etc) but it’s not something I would do every single time I shopped. I did mine at Harris Teeter but it was essentially the same, however, they apply your coupons to the next order to speed up the process. It’s a little weird to think that through but either way you get the discount.
I also agree that the service fee is likely wiped out when you think about the impulse buys you’re avoiding.
That’s an interesting way to handle the coupons. Does it work more like a credit in case the coupons have expired or don’t apply the next time?
Exactly. You have $12 worth of coupons so you get a $12 discount off your next order.
While there are no Kroger’s where I live, we have this feature available for my local grocery store for the same price and I always wondered how it worked. Thanks for letting us know! i feel more at ease knowing I can put in specifications about the type of fruit/veggies I want.
I felt much better about the service after seeing that option, too.
They recently implemented this at our local Fred Meyer, and they just finished up redoing part of the parking lot for it, as well as the fancy doors, etc.
I haven’t tried it yet, because I’ve no need for it. I do, however, like that they *finally* have some way to look up prices of things online (something they have needed for years). I go onto the clicklist part of the site, from FredMeyer.com and look for what I’m wanting to compare prices on. Saves me a lot of hassle.
But getting groceries delivered isn’t for me. I can do it quick enough on my own, as well as wanting to choose out the things myself. On top of I prefer things bagged in a certain way (and load everything on the conveyer belt in the way I want, and get frustrated when the cashier picks and chooses around that order, lol) and certainly put in my truck in a certain way (to not squish certain things, ha). I’d rather avoid all that and just, well, do it the way I have for years. 😛
LOL! I love shopping when I’m alone and not tired. At least for food. For clothing I’m never in the mood, at least not for myself, I love going shopping for clothing for my daughter though. But when my husband goes with me grocery shopping he’s in a hurry, hates rude people in the store, doesn’t like me to meander like I like to. So on days when I’m too tired or when he’s not in the mood for shopping this would be a great idea! LOL I love having him help me, but it’s not relaxing to hear him huff and puff and want me to hurry! That’s so worth $4.95! LOL
haha! I agree, I prefer to loiter while grocery shopping. My Hubby is more of an in and out kind of guy. That’s really handy when we just need a gallon of milk and no extras, though!
Just so you are all aware, the meat cutter selects all of your meat and you can add any special instructions ( width, types of cuts anything) same for all produce items or any item in the store for that matter. If you allow subs on your order and they are out of stock they find one that is fitting and charge you the lowest price…. Its awesome about a 5 minute transaction
I’m disabled, so is my mom. My 25 year old son ends up doing a lot of the shopping but it’s not a chore he really likes. He likes taking me to the store even less, because I like to take my time. We’re on our second clicklist order. He picks it up tomorrow. He says it’s easier to shop online, especially since everyone else can give input but we can’t throw things into the cart that he doesn’t see. I can still walk but my joints dislocate so I need to use an amigo in the store. If there is no scooter available I can’t get groceries. Between Postural Orhthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Ehlers Danlos (EDS has a lot of comorbid conditions and POTS is one) I’m totally wiped for the rest of that day and the next one too if I try to walk through a store. Sometimes I’m wiped out even just riding the scooter. Clicklist works well for us because otherwise there is a risk of an ER visit for whoever goes to the store, unless it’s my son and he can’t always go for us. He can run in and get a few things but for planning meals, snacks and general supplies for 5 people (sometimes 6 as my husband drives a semi, but he runs to the store when he’s home) this works great for us.
I’m sorry to hear about your health problems, but so happy that this system is working so well for your family! It certainly has some great benefits. I wish it had been around when I had sciatic pain in my pregnancies.
I love the service and have used it 4 times already about $100 each time. I’m impressed with how nice they pick items according to my instructions but today I got cottage cheese that expired a week ago. This is inconvenient as I have to make a trip to return it. Some items I allow substitutions and some I do not. One trip they were out of stock on several items so they gave me a $5 coupon for my next trip. Mega Event items work just like in the store as well as digital coupons and they take my paper coupons at pick up. My items are always bagged logically and they always put the bread and eggs up front. You essentially shop at least the day before so there’s plenty of time to add items to your cart. I frequently think of something else and go back to the computer and put it in my cart. In the store I always managed to forget several items. The cut off time is midnight so I wait until I can think of everything I need before I submit the order for next day pick up. I’m primary caregiver for my mother with dementia and this service is a godsend for me. Not only that, but I really do feel important when I pull into the Clicklist lane. Thanks Kroger for this much needed and valuable service.
What about buying ice cream and milk? Their pickup times have a 1 hour time between. i.e. Pickup time – between 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Will your ice cream still be frozen or the milk cold if you get there at 5:00 p.m.?
Yes. I believe they keep the cold things in a fridge or freezer until you get there. I have bought milk (not ice cream) and other cold dairy items without issue.
Absolutely, I buy refrigerated and frozen items a lot. After they scan and bag cold items they store them in the cooler and freezer until you arrive.
I am also Disabled & shopping for 7 people, the convenience of shopping with Kroger ClickList is a must have I am happy to pay $4.95 since 2-3 hr shopping trips don’t work for me because I will be unable to walk for days after. It also gives the entire family a choice to chime in if need be and things forgotten or extra items can be picked up later by one of our kids that drive. Now my first note of correction for Spring TX Kroger I have wondered about the tips issue as well so I called and asked They ARE allowed to accept tips but it is not required. I am happy to tip especially if they paid attention to my instructions & only 1 time we had a mix up but understandable since they are not me but they still took the time to right the wrong and very polite about it. They also load the vehicle for u & this is a great help. If they substitute an item then they will discount it which I love! I have also used their delivery service and it was even more amazing! Saving us the hassle of even leaving the house and trying to figure out which adult is going and confusion in list items. They only question I have and can’t seem to find is what is the cutoff time for placing the order for having groceries delivered or picked up @ store same day?
Have been very happy with this click list … but this last trip , I was very disappointed … I order beef round steak … buy one get one free … well the one I paid for was over a pound and my free one was not even a pound ( small ) … The one I paid for was 10.00 and the free one was 5.00 dollars … I feel like I got ripe off on the free one , they could have gotten a little close to a pound ,like I paid for the first one …
After using clicklist for ayear, I am quitting Kroger. I find the website frustrating. Once you spend hours putting things in your cart, you cannot switch to delivery. You have to renter every item. Delivered items are much more expensive, plus a delivery charge. Website locked up repeatedly. Customer service was no help.
I like this service. Grocery shopping is one of biggest pet peeves, and I always get cranky having to navigate a crowded, noisy store. I also get very anxious sometimes. I usually know exactly what I want, so this allows me to just click and go pick up when i’m scheduled. The staff is always friendly. Sometimes the substitutions don’t make sense, and I decline. But they are often more than fair, and you pay the price of the item they are substituting for even if the substitution is more expensive. The fee for the service seems pretty fair, and worth the extra cost so that I don’t have to go into the store myself. I do sometimes shop the old fashioned way, when I need to actually look for myself to choose what’s needed.
However, I’ve been finding the past several times, items that are on my list, are somehow not making it back home with me. Looking at my receipt, two times the items were not on there, which means the shoppers probably just missed that item. However, two times there was something that was on the receipts, that didn’t make it to my car. I’m not sure how this works. And I usually don’t discover that something has been missed until a day or so later when I am needing that thing. So it’s like, why bother making a fuss at this point?
So I’m probably going to have to start biting the bullet and just doing my own shopping again to keep this from happening.
Like others who have commented I am also disabled so a simple shopping trip will put me down for days. Clicklist is not in my area yet but was planning a trip to big city so decided to give it a try. First off, kinda hard to make sure you get right items on the mega events, cause they are not marked what is on the event, just yellow highlighted ANY sale item. Other stuff ordering was easy though. The pick up was great! Associate was very nice and friendly. BUT the one thing I discovered, the next day…. that I absolutely hate!!, is They charge your card the full amount before discounts and then reimburse you 3 to 5 days later. That is not acceptable to me. Now I am forced to wait till that 52 dollars is put back into my account before I can get gas for my truck. Never again.