Albertsons has a new advantage over Kroger, Walmart, Amazon for grocery shoppers

Americans increasingly rely on grocery delivery to save time, but the convenience comes at an additional cost.

Between delivery charges, service fees, and subscription costs, shoppers may end up paying more before even considering the price of their groceries.

Still, the demand for online grocery shopping continues to grow. Especially if you take into account the cost of gas, parking, and time spent going shopping, or the convenience it offers to those with health complications who are unable to shop in-store.

According to the latest Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopping Survey, U.S. online grocery sales increased more than 16% year over year in September 2026.

A record 64% of U.S. households purchased groceries online during the month, while average order frequency increased 9%.

Delivery also attracted customers at a faster rate than pickup, signaling that convenience remains an important consideration, even as consumers watch their spending.

That is creating a meaningful opportunity for retailers to compete: paid memberships that promise to make frequent grocery deliveries more affordable.

And Albertsons, the parent company of Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and several other supermarket chains, has introduced a membership that undercuts Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Kroger on annual subscription prices.

Albertsons slashes membership price to $39

Albertsons recently replaced its $99 annual FreshPass membership with a new subscription called forU+. At $39 annually, the replacement costs roughly 61% less than the previous program.

According to the company’s official membership information, forU+ includes:

• Unlimited free same-day delivery on qualifying orders of at least $30
• Flash delivery upgrades for $2 per order, with delivery available in as soon as 30 minutes in participating areas
• Free Flash pickup at participating locations
• Loyalty points that do not expire while the subscription remains active

However, as TheStreet previously reported, the lower price comes without several benefits that were originally part of the FreshPass.

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This includes the $5 monthly grocery credits, double points on certain private-label purchases, and additional discounts on select Albertsons brands, none of which will be part of forU+.

Shoppers who previously used those discounts could end up losing benefits that exceed the reduction in membership costs. But for households primarily interested in grocery delivery, the lower annual fee is competitive.

Which grocery delivery membership is cheapest in 2026?

Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Kroger offer paid memberships combining delivery services with additional shopping benefits.

I compared their standard annual subscription prices, delivery minimums, and additional benefits to see how Albertsons stacks up.

At their regular annual rates, Albertsons forU+ costs $59 less than Walmart+, $60 less than Target Circle 360, and $100 less than Amazon Prime.

It also costs $30 less than Kroger’s entry-level Boost Essential membership.

Albertsons has another advantage over Walmart, Target, and Kroger: Its minimum order for free delivery is $30, compared with $35 for its rivals.

But price alone does not tell the entire story.

Kroger’s Boost membership provides double loyalty points on qualifying purchases, while Walmart+ and Amazon Prime offer shipping, streaming, and other benefits beyond grocery delivery.

Target Circle 360 also lets members order from participating retailers outside Target through Shipt, potentially making it more useful for shoppers who frequently visit multiple stores.

Amazon’s pricing is particularly complicated. Prime members can receive free same-day delivery on eligible grocery orders above $25 in participating locations, but Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh deliveries operate under separate fee structures.

For frequent customers of those grocery services, Amazon offers an additional $99.99 annual subscription that waives delivery fees on qualifying orders.

Does Albertsons’ cheaper membership actually save shoppers money?

There is one important distinction shoppers should consider before switching subscriptions: A cheaper delivery membership does not guarantee lower grocery prices.

In February, Consumer Reports published a nationwide supermarket price comparison based on research conducted by Strategic Resource Group.

The research compared grocery baskets across major chains in six metropolitan areas, using Walmart as the baseline.

Its findings revealed considerable price differences:

• Safeway’s average grocery prices were 8.8% higher than Walmart’s.
• Albertsons’ prices were 24.8% higher.
• Vons’ prices were 26.6% higher.
• Kroger’s prices were 14.8% higher.
• Target’s prices were 5.9% higher.

The study used in-store prices collected in late summer 2025, including sales and free loyalty-card discounts, rather than current grocery delivery prices.

Nevertheless, it shows why a household could save money on an annual delivery subscription but spend more on the groceries themselves.

Additional service fees may apply even with the forU+ membership.

This is particularly important for shoppers making large grocery purchases, where relatively small differences in product prices can quickly outweigh the savings from a lower subscription fee.

Why Walmart, Amazon, and Albertsons are competing for grocery memberships

Retailers are increasingly using subscription programs to encourage repeat purchases and keep customers shopping within their businesses.

Brick Meets Click’s September research found that 29% of active online grocery shoppers also purchased from Walmart online during the month, up 4.2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, 50% also placed at least one order with Amazon.

That cross-shopping behavior means traditional supermarkets are no longer competing only with other grocery chains for customer loyalty.

Walmart is also expanding its membership strategy.

On Oct. 20, the company introduced a combined Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Plus membership for $120 annually, bringing together grocery delivery, warehouse-club shopping, fuel discounts, and streaming benefits.

The bundled price represents $98 in annual savings compared with buying the two memberships separately.

Albertsons is taking a different approach.

Rather than adding benefits, it has lowered the cost of entry while removing several existing discounts.

For someone who already shops at Safeway, Vons, or another Albertsons supermarket and regularly orders delivery, the $39 membership could help consumers save on delivery fees.

But Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Kroger each offer distinct advantages that may matter more to households that use multiple shopping services.

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