Does Kroger Have Curbside Pickup: Everything You Need To Know Before Ordering In 2025

It’s 5:47 PM on a Tuesday. You’ve got three kids buckled in the backseat, it’s starting to pour, and you still need dinner groceries before soccer practice. This is the exact moment every parent, busy professional, and tired human has asked themselves: Does Kroger Have Curbside Pickup, and will it actually save me the headache of walking the store? For millions of shoppers every week, this service isn’t just a nice extra—it’s the difference between making dinner and ordering takeout for the third night that week.

Too many people try grocery pickup wrong, show up at the wrong time, forget their ID, or miss out on free pickup slots because they didn’t check the fine print first. By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly how Kroger curbside works, what it costs, hidden tricks to save money, common mistakes to avoid, and whether this service actually lives up to the hype. We’ll cover every edge case, from alcohol pickup rules, holiday hours, and even what to do if your order arrives wrong.

First: The Straight Answer You Came Here For

Let’s cut through all the confusing website fine print and get right to the point. Yes, Kroger offers curbside pickup at over 98% of their store locations across 35 US states as of 2025. This service launched as a small test program back in 2018, and expanded rapidly during the pandemic to become one of the most widely available grocery pickup options in the country. Unlike some regional chains that only offer pickup at select flagship locations, Kroger has rolled out the service to even small-town neighborhood stores with just 10 checkout lanes.

How Much Does Kroger Curbside Pickup Cost?

One of the biggest questions people have before trying curbside for the first time is how much extra they’ll pay for the convenience. For years Kroger ran free pickup promotions, but their pricing structure has stabilized as of 2024. Most shoppers will pay one flat fee, plus optional tipping.

Here is the standard pricing breakdown for all Kroger curbside orders:

• Orders over $35: $4.95 flat pickup fee
• Orders under $35: $9.95 flat pickup fee
• Boost members: 100% free pickup on all orders over $10
• Same-day rush slots: Additional $2.99 surcharge on any order size

Important note: Kroger does not mark up individual item prices for curbside orders. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about the service. Multiple independent third party tests have confirmed that 97% of items cost the exact same price online as they do on the store shelf. You will get the same weekly sale prices, digital coupons, and fuel points for curbside orders that you would get if you walked inside the store.

Tipping is always optional for Kroger curbside. 10-15% is standard if your shopper does a good job, but you are never required to tip. 100% of tips go directly to the store employee that picked your order, not to corporate overhead.

How To Place A Kroger Curbside Order Step By Step

Placing your first curbside order takes less than 10 minutes once you know the system. You can order through the official Kroger mobile app or through their desktop website. We recommend using the app for real time updates about your order.

Follow this simple process every time:

1. Log into your Kroger account and select your local store
2. Add groceries to your cart just like you would online
3. Select a 1-hour pickup window that works for your schedule
4. Pay for your order and confirm your contact phone number
5. When you leave for the store, tap the "On My Way" button in the app
6. Pull into a marked curbside spot and wait for an employee

Most orders will be ready 15 minutes before your pickup window starts. You can arrive any time during your selected one hour window. If you are running more than 30 minutes late, just send a quick message through the app to let the team know. They will hold your order for up to 24 hours after your scheduled time before restocking unused cold items.

One little known trick: you can add items to your order up until 2 hours before your pickup window. This works even for same day orders. If you remember you forgot toilet paper while you are driving to the store, just pull over, open the app, add it, and your shopper will grab it before you arrive.

What Items Can You Get With Kroger Curbside?

Almost everything you can buy inside Kroger is available for curbside pickup. That includes fresh produce, meat, dairy, frozen food, cleaning supplies, baby items, pet food, and even prepared hot food from the deli. There are only a small number of exceptions that cannot be picked up curbside.

Refer to this quick reference table for common items:

For alcohol pickup, you must show a valid government issued ID to the employee when they bring your order out. You will also be required to sign for the order. No one under 21 can receive an order that includes alcohol, even if they did not order it themselves.

If an item you want is marked unavailable online, that just means the inventory system currently shows zero stock. You can still add it to your order and leave a note for your shopper. 72% of the time, shoppers will find a suitable substitute or locate the item on the shelf even when the online system says it is out of stock.

Peak Times And Best Pickup Slots To Choose

Nothing is more frustrating than logging on to order groceries and finding every good pickup slot is booked solid for three days. Kroger releases new pickup slots at 10 PM local time every single night. That is the single most important fact almost no one knows about this service.

These are the busiest and quietest times for Kroger curbside:

• Busiest: Friday 4PM - 7PM, Saturday all day
• Most available: Tuesday 9AM - 12PM, Wednesday 2PM - 5PM
• Least wait once there: Weekdays before 11AM
• Longest wait times: Sunday after 1PM

According to internal Kroger data shared with store operators, pickup slots book up 7x faster on Saturday than they do on Tuesday. If you can schedule your pickup for a weekday afternoon mid-week, you will almost always find an open slot within 24 hours. You will also get much faster service when you arrive at the store.

If all slots look booked, check back 2 hours before the time you want. Cancellations happen constantly, and slots open back up without warning. Many regular shoppers refresh the app right before they leave work every day, and almost always find a last minute slot.

Common Problems And How To Fix Them

Even with the best systems, things go wrong sometimes. Kroger curbside is not perfect, and every regular has had a bad order at least once. The good news is almost every common problem has a simple fix, and Kroger has one of the most generous customer service policies in the grocery industry.

Follow this troubleshooting steps for the most frequent issues:

1. Missing item: Report it through the app within 7 days for a full refund, no return required
2. Bad produce: Send one photo through the support chat and get instant refund
3. Wrong substitute: Refuse the item when it is brought out, you will not be charged
4. Late order: Request a $10 store credit automatically if your order is more than 45 minutes late

You do not need to argue with anyone. All of these policies are posted officially, and support agents are authorized to process refunds immediately with no questions asked. Kroger reports that less than 3% of all curbside orders result in any customer issue of any kind.

If you have a bad experience, do not stop using the service entirely. Every store has different staff, and one bad order does not mean the service is bad overall. Most regulars report that after 3-4 orders, they learn how their local store works, and issues become extremely rare.

Pro Tips To Get The Most Out Of Kroger Curbside

Once you use Kroger curbside for a month, you will start noticing little tricks that make the service work even better. Long time users have built up a list of hacks that most new shoppers never find out about.

Try these proven tips on your next order:

• Leave specific notes for produce: Write "firm bananas" or "extra ripe avocado" instead of just accepting default
• Order 2-3 days ahead for the best selection
• Turn on push notifications so you know exactly when your shopper starts your order
• Allow substitutions for non-perishable items, you will almost always get better deals
• Bring your own reusable bags, most stores will happily use them if you ask

One of the best hidden benefits is fuel points. You earn the exact same 1 fuel point per dollar spent on curbside orders that you do for in store shopping. That means every $100 you spend on groceries gets you 10 cents off per gallon of gas, just like normal.

A 2024 consumer survey found that regular Kroger curbside users save an average of 2.2 hours per week compared to shopping in store. That adds up to over 114 hours per year, or almost three full work weeks of time you get back for other things.

Kroger curbside pickup is one of the most reliable, fairly priced grocery pickup options available right now. It works at almost every location, regular sale prices apply, and the process is simple enough for anyone to use on their first try. While it is not perfect, it solves the exact problem most people have with grocery shopping: wasting time standing in lines and walking aisles when you have better things to do.

Next time you need groceries, skip the parking lot walk and give curbside a try. Start with a small order first to get comfortable with the process. Once you get used to never carrying grocery bags again in the rain, you will probably never go back to shopping inside the store the old way.