Did you know that Sams Club will do your shopping for you?
I knew that businesses could place orders for pickup at Sams Club, but I just recently learned that Club Pickup is a free service to all members – not just business members.
Our store is in the process of some major remodeling, so it has been a challenge to find everything on our grocery list. What better time to let someone else do the shopping for us?
How it works
Log into your account on the Sams Club website. If you haven’t set one up yet, you’ll need your membership number from the membership card and your zip code.
Once you are set up and signed in, type the first item on your list into the search bar at the top.
When you’ve found the correct item, select “add to cart.”
When you’ve added everything you need to your cart, go to your cart and select “Begin Checkout.”
Confirm which store you want to pick the items up at, what time you will pick them up, and how you want to pay for the items. I paid online, but you can opt to pay in the store instead. Paying online seems to save time.
When your order is ready for pickup, Sams Club will send you a text or email to let you know.
Pros:
Know the total ahead of time
I like to know how much I am going to be spending before I get to the register. Ordering this way allows me to prioritize items if the total is more than I want to spend.
Prevent impulse buys
I’m pretty good about not adding extras into the cart at the store, but it’s even easier not to impulse buy online. It’s hard to get distracted by other items if you are focused on typing in your list. Add to that the growing total bill, and impulse buys become even less likely.
Potential time saver
Between placing the order and waiting in line at the store, we probably spent about as much time as we would have if we did our own shopping at Sams Club.
Placing the order will probably go faster next time since I have done it before and the website saves order histories. Choosing a different pickup time might also mean less of a wait.
It’s free
There aren’t many extras that I am willing to pay for, so I am happy to see that this is a service free to all members.
No minimum purchase
I purchased 11 items and spent about $73. I could have also purchased 1 item and spent $5. With no minimum purchase amount you don’t have to worry about buying things you don’t need just to reach a price threshold.
If I only needed one item though, it would probably be faster for me to run into the store and grab it myself.
Purchase history is saved
Next time I log onto my account, I will be able to view everything I ordered this time, as well as purchases we’ve made in the past. This is great for someone that might not make lists. It also means I don’t have to search for every item I need again.
Cons
We still had to wait in line
Our store has a kiosk that you are supposed to use to pick up orders. The kiosk was out of order, so the tobacco counter staff member was running the show. We ended up waiting in line about 20 minutes, then more to have our ticket checked on the way out of the store.
To be fair, we did go about lunch time, which can be an especially busy time at the store in general.
The pickup kiosk is in a congested area
Our club pickup is in the back corner of the store by the pharmacy. The extra-large carts and flat beds, along with all the people, can make the area feel tight and congested. Not a fun spot to wait.
Can’t be used with Ibotta
I talked about Ibotta when we were talking about saving money on groceries a little while back. I was hoping that I could still redeem coupons through Ibotta even when I ordered and paid for them online. As far as I can tell, there isn’t a way to submit online receipts to Ibotta.
Although this was a little disappointing, it’s not a huge deal. Many of the Ibotta deals at Sams are for items we don’t buy anyway.
If you did choose to pay for your order in the store, you should get a regular receipt that could be submitted to Ibotta.
No samples
For some people, the samples are the best part about a trip to Sams Club! While I do enjoy the samples, we are rarely there when they are offering them anyway.
Of course you could wander the aisles before picking up your order and still snag a few samples.
No memory jog
Sometimes I don’t remember we need something until I am at the store standing in front of it. If I’m not physically shopping at the store, I don’t get that reminder.
That works in my favor too. Like I mentioned earlier, impulse buys are less of a problem online.
Conclusion
Club Pickup is something I see myself using again, but probably not for every single shopping trip. It’s great when the grocery list is long, but for just a couple of items the waiting could easily take longer than the actual shopping would.
I see this being a great service for someone with kids too. Kids don’t want to be dragged through a shopping trip any more than their parents want to drag them through it. Waiting at the pickup line is likely to take less time than solving a new battle with every turn of the cart.
If you’d like to know more about Sams Club Pickup, check out their FAQ page.
What about you? Have you tried Club Pickup yet?