How Does Walmart Grocery Delivery Work — And Is It Worth It?

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Walmart has their own delivery service, and it’s actually pretty affordable and easy to use (and doesn't require you to the leave the house like Walmart curbside pickup does). Instead of placing your order through Instacart or DoorDash, you order your items directly from Walmart, and you can choose a time slot up to a week in advance.

Walmart delivery service has existed for a few years now, and so far, they’ve done a pretty good job of meeting our expectations — the milk has always been cold, the produce is fresh, and we haven’t received any expired products yet (although expired doesn’t always mean it’s garbage).

And unlike other third-party delivery services, Walmart delivery prices aren't inflated to cover hidden costs. But unless you're a paid Walmart Plus member, you'll pay a $7.95 - $9.95 delivery fee per order. And you'll also be expected to leave your delivery driver a tip for their effort.

In this post, I've rounded up everything you need to know about Walmart delivery, including how it works, how much to tip your driver (a few members of our team weighed in!), what you'll pay for their in-home delivery service, and more.

For more smart shopping tips, savings hacks, and Walmart deals, download the KCL app or text HACKS to 57299.

1. Walmart delivery is handled by Spark drivers who bring your order to your door.

A walmart delivery employee knocking on a front door.

When you place an order for Walmart delivery, a Walmart employee will be the one shopping for your items in the store. Then, a driver from the third-party delivery company Spark picks up your order and brings it right to your door.

Not every address is eligible for Walmart Delivery, though.

If you live more than 10 - 15 minutes away from a Walmart store, your home address might not be eligible for Walmart same-day grocery delivery. Each store sets their own delivery radius, so the mileage radius will depend on your local store.

KCL TIP: To check your address, select a product and look under “How do you want your item?” section to see if Delivery is an option. You may even be eligible for Walmart drone delivery in certain states (like Texas)!

2. Walmart online grocery prices are the same as in stores.

A walmart grocery receipt in front of groceries on a counter.

It’s important to know that Walmart grocery online prices are the same prices you’d pay in a store. They never inflate their grocery prices for delivery or pickup orders.

Here’s what Walmart says on their Terms and Conditions page:

“Pricing for Walmart Pickup and delivery items will be the same prices as if you shopped in the store that packs and delivers the items. If an item's price changes between the time you place your order and the day your order is packed for delivery, we will charge you the lower price.” - Walmart.com

3. Expect Walmart to substitute a store brand if needed — but you may pay more.

Walmart great value disinfecting wipes in a walmart shopping bag

If Walmart has to substitute a store brand for a brand-name item and the substituted item is cheaper than the original, you’ll only pay the cost of the cheaper item. But if the substituted item is more expensive than the original, you’re going to have to pay the list price for the more expensive substitution. This is a Walmart grocery policy change as of September 2022.

In most cases, if you’re buying a brand-name item (like Mrs. Butterworth’s maple syrup) and it’s unavailable, Walmart grocery delivery will substitute a store-brand item, such as Great Value original syrup. So it’s not like they’re going to switch out Jif Peanut Butter for Skippy.

4. Avoid per-order delivery fees with a Walmart Plus subscription.

While Walmart doesn’t inflate their per-item prices with delivery orders, they do charge a per-order delivery fee — unless you have a paid Walmart Plus subscription.

Without a Walmart+ subscription, you’ll pay a delivery fee of $7.95 - $9.95 per order.

If you have Walmart+, you’ll get free delivery on orders of $35 or more. (For orders under the $35 order minimum, the delivery fee is $6.99 for Walmart+ members.)

KCL TIP: If you place at least 12 Walmart delivery orders per year, joining Walmart+ is worth it because you’ll save more than $100 in delivery fees — which is more than the annual cost of the membership.

5. Remember to factor in a tip for the Walmart delivery driver.

A person receiving a Walmart delivery at their front door.

Walmart delivery uses Spark drivers who are independent contractors, so tips are always appreciated. You can add a tip during the checkout process or within 24 hours of receiving your delivery.

As for how much to tip your driver, it depends on the time and effort required to deliver your order, not necessarily the dollar amount spent. For example, delivering $100 worth of bottled water is a lot more cumbersome than delivering $100 worth of meat. Also consider if they’ll need to climb a lot of stairs or carry heavy items to deliver your order.

How much should you tip with Walmart delivery?

When I asked the team at The Krazy Coupon Lady what they usually tip their Walmart delivery drivers, here’s what they had to say:

“I usually do a dollar amount, like $2 - $3.” — Mairyn, Boise, ID
“I usually base mine on how large of an order I have. Or, if I order bulkier things like cases of water requiring multiple trips to bring to my door from their car, I'll tip higher. But anywhere in the range of $5 - $10 is what I do.” — Rachel, Kissimmee, FL
“I personally do $2 - $3 if I’m ordering. My wife does 5%.” — Kirk, Roseville, CA
"I do a set dollar amount depending on the order. I found that if you do a percentage and there’s stuff out of stock, it reduces their tip." — Alana, Tampa, FL
"I manually calculate a percent of the ordered total (usually comes out to around 20%, but sometimes higher when things go OOS)." — Christian, Seattle, FL

6. Pay an extra $5 - $10 for rush delivery in 1 - 3 hours.

Walmart does offer Express delivery if you need your items in 3 hours or less, and the service is available from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. But there’s no getting around the extra fees you’ll pay for that convenience — they apply even with Plus membership.

For an additional $5, you can get your order delivered in 3 hours or less. For an additional $10, you can get Express delivery in 1 hour or less. Remember that those fees are in addition to any standard delivery fees that apply.

7. Upgrade your Plus membership for $7 a month to get groceries delivered to your fridge.

With Walmart’s InHome service, a Walmart associate will actually put your groceries in the fridge for you — and you don’t even have to leave a tip. You can also arrange to have your Walmart returns picked up from your house.

You can add InHome service to an existing Plus membership for an extra $7 a month, or sign up for a new InHome membership (which includes all the perks of Plus) for $19.95 a month or $138 a year.

If you haven’t had a Walmart Plus subscription in the past, you can try the InHome service free for 30 days.

KCL TIP: You will need to have a smart lock or keypad in order for the Walmart team member to access your home, but Walmart does offer a promo code for a free myQ Smart Garage Control. If you already have a keypad on your home or garage, just link it in the InHome app.

How Walmart Delivery Works

Step 1: Add items to your Walmart cart.

The easiest way to place your Walmart delivery order is with the Walmart app (download for iOS / Android). You can also place your order online at Walmart.com.

Remember, if you have a Walmart+ membership, you’ll need to add at least $35 worth of items to your cart to unlock your free delivery perk.

Step 2: Reserve a 1-hour pickup window.

Once you’ve finalized your online cart, you’ll choose “Delivery” and select a 1-hour pickup window.

Include any delivery instructions for your driver like “Leave on the front porch.”

KCL TIP: Since time slots can fill up quickly, make sure you select your nearest Walmart location for delivery and select your time slot BEFORE adding items to your online cart. This will hold your delivery time slot for one hour.

Step 3: Allow substitutions for each shopping cart item.

Before you place your order, you can opt to allow for substitutions (or not) for each item. I always recommend you allow them. If an item you ordered is out of stock before your order gets filled, Walmart will substitute a similar item. You can reject substituted items right up until the shopper completes your order. Rejected items and their charges will be removed from your order.

Walmart Grocery will keep you updated via email and text.

Step 3: Place your Walmart grocery order.

Once you’ve completed the checkout process, you’ll place your order. You can track your order status (Placed, Shopping, On the Way, or Delivered) within the app or through your Walmart account online.

Step 4: Add items to your shopping cart up to three hours and 15 minutes before your delivery.

Okay, earlier I said the single best thing about Walmart grocery delivery is that they don’t inflate their in-store prices for online orders. I lied about that being the best part. This is pretty good, too:

After you place your initial order, Walmart grocery allows you to make changes to your order, including adding and removing items, up to three hours and 15 minutes before your delivery. I think my average number of edits is about 14.

If you placed an order for a future delivery date and time, you can reschedule up to the day before your delivery date. You can’t reschedule a same-day delivery, though. Sign in to your account and select “Purchase history” to verify the exact cutoff time for making changes in your area.

How to Save on Walmart Delivery

Use a promo code to get at least $10 off your first delivery order.

Walmart pamphlet with details and discount code for grocery delivery and pickup.

If you’re new to Walmart grocery delivery, you can enter a Walmart promo code during checkout to save at least $10 on your first order of $50 or more. Here are a few of the current offers:

TRIPLE10: $10 off your first three orders of $50 or more
TRIPLE20: $20 off your first three orders of $50 or more (select customers only)
WOWFRESH: $10 off your first order of $50 or more

These Walmart promo codes won’t apply to alcohol purchases, though.

Get a free 30-day trial with free cancellation.

Want to give Walmart delivery a try? They offer a free 30-day trial for their Walmart Plus subscription that you can cancel anytime at no cost. So for a month, your orders of $35 or more would arrive with zero delivery fees!

Link Ibotta with your Walmart account for rebates.

A person holding a smartphone with the ibotta app walmart section displayed.

Don’t miss out on Ibotta rebates just because you’re not shopping in-store. Here’s how you can earn with Ibotta: if you haven’t already done so, download the Ibotta app. Go in to your account (or create one). Then navigate to the Walmart page and select “Link Walmart account.” You also need to have a debit or credit card as one of your Ibotta payment methods. That’s it!

When you’re ready to order groceries for delivery, open the Ibotta app and load Ibotta product offers (must always be done first!), and then tap the Walmart page and shop. Once you check out, Ibotta will verify your purchase and add any money earned from the product offers to your Ibotta account within 24 hours.