Does Costco Offer Same-Day Grocery Delivery? Here's What We Know

Despite the fact that some claim there's a best time to shop at Costco, we know that, sometimes, it's just not possible to deal with the crowds and craziness of visiting this super-popular warehouse retailer in person. Maybe you want to snag a Costco prepared meal for dinner (we ranked them worst to best) or you need to top off your supply of bulk TP and bottled water ... can Costco possibly deliver your order the same day and make life a little easier?

Same-day grocery delivery is a popular convenience offered by tons of supermarkets. Whole Foods, Walmart, and Aldi are just a few examples of chains that offer this service. You can, in fact, get same-day groceries from Costco — but your order is fulfilled by Instacart. There are a few other catches, too. 

First of all, as of writing, only perishable groceries may be ordered this way. Meanwhile, shelf-stable items are shipped via 2-day delivery. Also, there's a $35 minimum order threshold. Since Instacart is delivering, there will be fees and you ought to tip your driver, which adds more money to your bill. Plus, Costco same-day delivery is only available in certain ZIP codes, which we'd guess is a function of your proximity to a Costco warehouse. Before you ask, yes, you do have to be a Costco member to access deliveries. You may be able to buy alcohol at Costco without a membership in certain municipalities, but you'll need to fork over the annual fees to get great deals on your groceries.

Ordering Costco grocery delivery is pretty straightforward. Simply navigate to the store's Same-Day webpage, enter your zip code, and fill up your cart. You will likely notice that items are tagged by delivery type, with most perishable items being fulfilled the same day and shelf-stable items for 2-day delivery. Once you check out, Instacart will assign a shopper to your order, who will then brave the store to pick up your groceries. If there are any possible substitutions due to out-of-stock items, they will get in touch with you directly. Note that item prices are slightly higher for delivery, as is the case at most stores. However, if you need meal prep ingredients or goodies for your kids' lunch boxes in a hurry, this can be a fantastic option for filling your fridge without having to stop what you are doing and make a time-consuming Costco run.

If you are trying to wriggle out of paying more for your same-day Costco items, you might want to play around with ordering from Costco's website versus ordering Costco items directly on Instacart. Reddit commenters have reported that, depending on the size of your order and the specific items in it, you might find that one option is cheaper than the other. Also of note: Costco reportedly sells $100 Instacart gift cards for a discounted price, which can, in turn, be used to pay for your Costco grocery order and defray some of the extra costs.