As a picky shopper and retail industry expert, I‘ve seen my fair share of grocery store loyalty programs over the years. And with the meteoric rise of online shopping and delivery subscriptions, supermarkets are now fiercely competing for digital customers. Enter Kroger Boost – the latest entry into the grocery delivery membership arena.
Launched in late 2021, Kroger Boost offers subscribers unlimited free delivery, double fuel points, and exclusive welcome offers – all for an annual fee of either $59 or $99. It‘s a bold move by Kroger to incentivize its 11 million daily customers to shift more of their shopping online.^1
But is Boost really a boost for your budget? How does it stack up against other popular delivery subscriptions like Instacart Express or Walmart+? And what‘s the smartest way to maximize the benefits – or cut ties if it‘s not a fit?
Let‘s take an expert look under the hood of Kroger Boost. By the end of this guide, you‘ll have all the intel you need to make an informed decision about whether Boost is a boon or a bust for your grocery budget.
Kroger Boost 101: The Basics
First, let‘s lay out the fundamentals of how the Boost membership works. Kroger offers two annual commitment tiers:^2
| Membership Tier | Annual Cost | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Boost | $59 | – Free next-day delivery on $35+ orders – Double fuel points on $35+ pickup/delivery orders – $100+ in welcome offers |
| Boost Plus | $99 | – Same as Boost but with free delivery in as little as 2 hours |
In both cases, you‘ll get your groceries (from Kroger or one of its banner stores like Ralphs or King Soopers) delivered for free as long as your order exceeds $35. This is pretty standard – Instacart Express and Walmart+ have the same $35 order minimum.
The double fuel points is a unique perk. Normally, Kroger Rewards members earn 1 point per $1 spent, with 100 points converting to $0.10 off per gallon at Kroger Fuel Centers (up to $1 off per gallon).^3 So with Boost, a $100 grocery delivery would net you 200 fuel points, or $0.20 off per gallon. Not game-changing, but it adds up if you regularly fill up at Kroger.
The $100 in welcome offers is enticing but a bit misleading. In reality, it‘s a bundle of digital coupons for various Kroger products and services. Valuable if you use them, but not a guaranteed $100 in your pocket.
The Competitive Landscape of Grocery Delivery Subscriptions
Kroger Boost doesn‘t exist in a vacuum. It‘s a strategic play to fend off the rise of third-party delivery services and incentivize loyalty. So how does it compare to the other major players?
Let‘s stack up the annual subscription costs and core benefits:
| Service | Annual Cost | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Instacart Express | $99 | – Free delivery on $35+ orders – Reduced service fees – 5% credit back on eligible pickup orders |
| Walmart+ | $98 | – Free delivery on $35+ orders – Fuel discounts at participating gas stations – Mobile scan & go in-store |
| Amazon Fresh | $119 (Prime membership) | – Free delivery on $35+ orders ($50+ in some areas) – Exclusive deals and sales – Access to Prime Video, Music, etc. |
| Kroger Boost | $59 or $99 | – Free delivery on $35+ orders – Double fuel points – Welcome coupon bundle |
As you can see, the core promise of all these subscriptions is the same: unlimited free delivery on orders over $35. The main differentiators are in the additional perks layered on top.
Instacart offers the broadest selection since it partners with 500+ national, regional and local retailers.^4 Walmart+ leans into its brick-and-mortar footprint with mobile scan & go, something none of the others offer. Amazon Fresh is the priciest, but you‘re really paying for the entire Prime ecosystem.
Boost‘s key unique advantage is double fuel points – a tangible perk for Kroger loyalists. The lower $59 price point may also be attractive for smaller households.
From a pure price perspective, here‘s how much you‘d need to order annually for each subscription to "pay for itself" in waived delivery fees (assuming a $5 delivery fee per $35+ order):
| Service | Annual Cost | # of Deliveries to Break Even | $ Amount to Break Even |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instacart Express | $99 | 20 | $700 |
| Walmart+ | $98 | 20 | $700 |
| Amazon Fresh | $119 | 24 | $840 |
| Kroger Boost | $59 | 12 | $420 |
| Kroger Boost Plus | $99 | 20 | $700 |
So with Kroger Boost, you‘d need to place at least one $35+ delivery order per month to come out ahead, compared to around two orders per month for the pricier subscriptions. Of course, this is just looking at delivery fee savings. It doesn‘t account for fuel points, coupons or any other membership perks.
Is Kroger Boost Worth It? An Expert Cost-Benefit Analysis
To determine if Kroger Boost is a smart choice for you, let‘s crunch some numbers. We‘ll compare two hypothetical Kroger shoppers: a frequent delivery power user and an occasional Kroger shopper.
Shopper A: The Kroger Loyal
- Currently spends $500/month ($6,000/year) at Kroger
- Places one $125 delivery order per week ($6,500/year)
- Fills up 70 gallons of gas per month (840 gallons/year) at Kroger Fuel Centers
- Without Boost: Pays $260/year in delivery fees ($5 x 52 orders)
- With $99 Boost Plus:
- Saves $260/year on delivery fees
- Earns extra 65,000 fuel points ($0.10/gal x 6500), worth $54/year
- Redeems 50% of welcome offers, saving $50
Annual Savings with Boost Plus: $265
Shopper B: The Occasional Kroger Delivery Customer
- Currently spends $200/month ($2,400/year) at Kroger
- Places one $50 delivery order every other month ($300/year)
- Fills up 40 gallons of gas per month (480 gallons/year) at Kroger Fuel Centers
- Without Boost: Pays $30/year in delivery fees ($5 x 6 orders)
- With $59 Boost:
- Saves $30/year on delivery fees
- Earns extra 1,500 fuel points ($0.10/gal x 300), worth $3/year
- Redeems 25% of welcome offers, saving $25
Annual Savings with Boost: -$1
As you can see, the frequent Kroger delivery customer comes out way ahead with Boost Plus. The $265 in annual savings from waived fees, bonus fuel points and welcome offers far exceeds the $99 membership cost.
However, for the occasional shopper, Boost doesn‘t offer much benefit beyond the initial welcome offers. They‘re essentially breaking even compared to just paying the $5 per order delivery fee. And that‘s assuming they even redeem $25 worth of the digital coupons.
So from a pure dollars and cents perspective, I‘d say Boost is a no-brainer for frequent delivery customers but a skip for occasional Kroger shoppers. The double fuel points can sweeten the deal, but only if you‘re maximizing those fill-ups at Kroger stations.
Another factor to consider is how the Boost benefits stack with Kroger‘s other reward programs. All Boost members are automatically enrolled in the free Kroger Rewards loyalty program (earning 1 fuel point per $1 spent). But if you‘re a Kroger credit cardholder, you can also earn 2x – 5x points on Kroger purchases.^5 That‘s in addition to the double points earned with Boost!
So for a truly loyal Kroger shopper, the membership savings can really snowball:
- 3x – 6x fuel points on digital orders with Boost + Kroger credit card
- 2x fuel points on all other spending at Kroger stores
- $0.30 off per gallon for every 100 fuel points (up to free fill-ups!)
Of course, you‘ll want to pay off that credit card in full to avoid negating your savings with interest charges. But for responsible Kroger loyalists, Boost can unlock some impressive rewards.
When and How to Cancel Your Kroger Boost Membership
Even if you‘re gung-ho about Boost now, your shopping patterns may shift over time. Maybe you move farther from a Kroger store, cutting down on deliveries. Or maybe you find yourself doing more of your shopping at other retailers like Costco or Aldi.
Whatever the reason, the good news is that canceling your Boost membership is fairly painless. Just follow these steps:
- Log into your Kroger account on the website or app
- Go to "Account" and click "Boost"
- Select "Manage Membership"
- Click "End Membership" and confirm cancellation
Pretty simple. Just be sure to cancel before your annual renewal date, or you‘ll get stuck paying for another year.
You can also cancel by calling Kroger Customer Service at 1-800-576-4377. Note that regardless of when you cancel, Kroger does not offer partial refunds on the annual fee.^6 So it‘s best to cancel as close to your renewal date as possible.
Interestingly, a 2021 survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers found that nearly half (42%) had canceled a retail subscription service like Instacart Express or Shipt in the past year.^7 The top reasons?
- They were no longer using it enough (33%)
- It got too expensive (26%)
- They switched to a competitor (22%)
This suggests that grocery delivery subscriptions can be a bit of a revolving door, with customers hopping between services to chase promos and cost savings. It also underscores the importance of regularly evaluating whether you‘re actually getting your money‘s worth from a membership.
Kroger seems to understand this dynamic. In fact, they‘re currently offering a "Try Boost for 30 days for $1" promotion to entice trial usage.^8 Presumably, they‘re betting that customers who experience the Boost perks will get hooked and renew at full price.
From a behavioral economics standpoint, this "foot-in-the-door" technique can be quite effective.^9 Give customers a taste of the benefits at a nominal cost, and they‘re more likely to say yes to a larger commitment down the line.
The Future of Kroger Boost: What‘s Next?
While the current Boost offering is fairly robust, I suspect it‘s just the beginning of Kroger‘s foray into paid memberships. As the largest pure-play grocery retailer in the U.S.^10, they have the scale and resources to really innovate in this space.
One potential enhancement? Integrating Boost with Kroger‘s massive store network for a true omnichannel experience. Imagine earning Boost fuel points not just on delivery orders, but on all your in-store purchases too. Or getting exclusive Boost member pricing and perks when shopping in person.
We‘ve already seen shades of this with Walmart+, which offers mobile scan & go in-store, something none of the other grocery subscriptions provide. And of course, the gold standard is Amazon Prime, which seamlessly integrates online and offline benefits across Whole Foods stores.
Kroger is also investing heavily in automation and robotics to streamline the fulfillment process for digital orders.^11 As these efficiencies scale, it‘s possible we could see even faster delivery options and lower order minimums for Boost members.
Finally, don‘t discount the role of personalization and targeted offers. With over 2,700 stores and 11 million daily customers, Kroger has a trove of valuable first-party data.^1 They could leverage this to curate individualized deals, product suggestions, and experiential rewards for Boost members. Think surprise fuel point bonuses on your birthday or getting first dibs on hard-to-find holiday items.
Of course, this is all just educated speculation. But given the intense competition in the grocery delivery wars, I wouldn‘t be surprised to see Kroger pull out all the stops to make Boost a must-have membership.
Key Takeaways and Expert Tips
We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this ultimate guide to Kroger Boost. To sum up my expert perspective:
-
Kroger Boost is best for frequent Kroger delivery customers. If you‘re regularly placing $35+ delivery orders, the membership can offer solid savings via waived fees and double fuel points.
-
Occasional Kroger shoppers may want to skip Boost. Unless you‘re maximizing the welcome offers, you‘ll likely break even compared to just paying per-order delivery fees.
-
Boost stacks well with other Kroger rewards. Pairing a Boost membership with a Kroger Rewards credit card can really amplify your fuel points and savings.
-
Canceling Boost is easy but must be done before your renewal date. There‘s no partial refund on the annual fee, so be mindful of your enrollment date.
-
Keep an eye out for Boost free trials and promotions. Taking the membership for a test drive can help you gauge the real-world value before committing.
-
Regularly reassess the value you‘re getting from Boost. If your shopping patterns change and you find yourself using it less, don‘t be afraid to cancel.
-
Stay tuned for potential enhancements to the Boost program. As Kroger invests in automation and personalization, we may see even more perks and benefits for members.
Ultimately, whether Kroger Boost is right for you depends on your unique shopping habits, preferences, and budget. But by weighing the nuances outlined in this guide, you‘re now well-equipped to make a savvy decision.
Happy shopping (and saving)!
