Walmart Plus: Everything you need to know about the grocery delivery service - CNET

walmart-plus-porch-dropoff — With Walmart Plus, Walmart is going all-in on grocery delivery.
Walmart

Want groceries and more delivered to your front door? That's the promise behind Walmart Plus, a new service announced earlier this year. It's not cheap, but you can sign up for a free 15-day Walmart Plus trial.

Although many have been quick to compare Plus to Amazon Prime, it's not really the same thing (see the link below). Here's everything you need to know about Walmart's program.

How much does Walmart Plus cost?

You can pay an annual price of $98, or go monthly and pay $12.95 (which works out to $155.40 annually -- obviously not the most cost-effective option). If you're not sure whether the service will be a good fit, Walmart offers the aforementioned 15-day free trial. Regular billing will kick in after that unless you cancel.

What's included with Walmart Plus?

Building on the store's original Delivery Unlimited option, Walmart Plus promises "in-store prices" and "as fast as same-day" delivery on over 160,000 items. Basically, anything that's in-store can be at your door within a day or even on the same day, with no added fees. What's more, although Walmart originally required a $35 minimum, you can now get delivery with no minimum.

Subscribers also get access to Scan & Go, a feature in the Walmart app that lets you scan items as you shop and then check out using Walmart Pay -- effectively bypassing the checkout lane.

There's a gas perk as well: You'll save up to 5 cents per gallon at nearly 2,000 fuel stations, with more to come.

How does Walmart Plus compare with Amazon Prime?

On the surface, this sounds like Walmart's version of Amazon Prime: basically, "free" deliveries for subscribers. And Walmart is doing it for $21 less per year: $98 versus $119. Amazon has two grocery angles, too: The company offers Prime subscribers free two-hour delivery (where available) from its Whole Foods stores -- with a $35 minimum order. There's also Amazon Fresh, a totally different grocery option that offers same-day delivery (where available), also with that $35 minimum.

That said, the comparisons largely end there: Although Walmart promises that "the list of benefits will continue to grow over time," Amazon Prime offers a much wider array of perks, including a wealth of streaming media (music, movies, TV), free e-books and magazines, free PC games and so on.

Ultimately, if you're forced to choose between the two, you'll want to decide which is more important: grocery delivery or streaming?

Is Walmart Plus a good value?

That depends on a number of factors, but ultimately it boils down to whether you live close enough to Walmart to actually qualify for delivery and how often you think you'll take advantage of that delivery.

For example, if you typically shop for groceries once a week and you leverage Walmart Plus every time, that works out to just $1.89 per week (based on the $98 annual rate) for deliveries. That's pretty cheap, and it saves you time as well -- especially if you're already getting your groceries at Walmart. Delivery also lowers your risk of COVID-19 exposure.

I've used a handful of grocery-delivery services in recent months, and for the most part they've been fine. Produce tends to be a sticking point: I like to choose my own avocados and bananas. But there's no debating the convenience of such services, especially for those who can't easily (or safely) get to a store.

Your thoughts?

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