Kroger has officially discontinued its once-popular Kroger Ship service, and longtime customers aren’t taking it lightly.
The sudden end of the Kroger Ship offering, which was similar to Walmart’s direct-to-consumer shipping service, has left shoppers scrambling, especially those who depended on it for groceries and home essentials delivered straight to their doors.
Kroger Ship allowed customers to order from a massive selection of third-party items and have them shipped via FedEx or UPS. But in a quiet move that stunned its loyal fanbase, Kroger pulled the plug in March 2025. If you check the FAQs page now, all it says is, “As of March 2025, Kroger is no longer selling third-party items via Ship to Home.” That’s it. No detailed reason. No apology. Just a flat-out shutdown.
And for people like Kara George, that message meant a lot more than a minor inconvenience. George lives over 100 miles from the nearest Kroger and relied heavily on the Ship service to get everything from groceries to household goods. She recently posted on Facebook, showing she had spent more than $600 on Kroger Ship orders in April alone. But now? She’s left with nothing but a shutdown notice on the Kroger app.
“I’m so going to miss Kroger!” she wrote. “It was good while it lasted! I don’t know how they say they didn’t have enough interest to stay delivering. There are so many changes they could’ve made instead of cancelling it altogether.”
Kroger Ship first launched in 2018 and exploded in popularity during the 2020 pandemic when delivery services were booming. At its peak, the platform carried over 50,000 items, from seasonal décor and toys to groceries and even home furnishings. In fact, in 2022, Kroger tried to inject new life into the platform by partnering with Bed Bath & Beyond and Buybuy Baby, offering products like bedding and baby furniture. But despite all that, the ship model didn’t survive.
Why? The landscape has changed. During the pandemic, ship-to-home orders made up over 40% of online grocery sales. Today, that number has dropped to just 19%, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. Consumers are now favoring faster alternatives like same-day delivery and curbside pickup for fresh groceries, something Kroger still offers through Instacart.
Kroger’s current delivery policy includes two-hour same-day delivery for $6.95, with options for even faster delivery in 30 minutes for qualifying orders over $10. New users can even get $15 off a $75 order. But for those in rural areas or shoppers like George who relied on the broader item range of Ship, this isn’t really a replacement, it’s a downgrade.
Interestingly, this move to shut down Kroger Ship comes right as the company is pushing harder into digital operations. E-commerce expert Celia Van Wickel pointed out in a LinkedIn post that Kroger recently launched a business unit focused entirely on digital growth. Killing off a key online offering during a digital pivot seems like a strange call, but it might be part of a bigger shake-up behind the scenes.
Kroger hasn’t responded to direct questions about why Ship was axed, and the silence is only adding to the frustration. Meanwhile, competitors like Walmart are still going strong with similar shipping services, and other retail giants like Costco and Family Dollar are announcing major perks or policy changes to keep customers loyal.
With no sign of Kroger Ship returning, it looks like loyal users will have to make the switch to alternative grocers or adapt to new delivery methods. Either way, it’s the end of an era for a service that once felt essential, and for customers like Kara George, it’s a decision that’s changing the way they shop entirely.
