Sam's Club is ending free curbside pickup for most of its members, but Sam's Club Plus shoppers will still enjoy the perk
- Sam's Club is rolling back its free curbside-pickup option.
- The benefit is still free for Sam's Club Plus members.
Sam's Club is rolling back its free curbside-pickup option for most of its members starting on Tuesday, June 28. After that, members of the warehouse club will need to pay a $4 fee for the service.
Sam's Club announced the nationwide perk on June 11, 2020. The announcement said that "non-Plus members will be able to use this new Plus benefit at no cost for a limited time." After two years, that time is coming to an end.
"Since its inception, Curbside Pickup had always been a free benefit for Plus members," a Sam's Club spokesperson told Insider. "For a limited time, we made Curbside Pickup a free benefit for Club members. Throughout the pandemic, we extended the limited time offer as a courtesy to our Club members. We are now expiring free Curbside Pickup for Club members and moving forward as planned with the $4 fee for Club members."
Sam's Club Plus is an upgraded membership with the warehouse chain that includes perks like early shopping, free shipping, and 2% Sam's Cash earnings on in-club purchases. Club membership costs $45 a year. Plus Membership — also known as Business Membership — costs $100 annually.
In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, curbside pickup became an important perk for retailers dealing with health-conscious shoppers reluctant to enter stores. And the service has been a mainstay at Sam's Club and its parent company, Walmart.
According to Insider Intelligence, in 2021 Walmart generated $20.38 billion in online orders fulfilled through curbside or in-store pickup. That's one of every four "click-and-collect" dollars spent nationwide last year.