I Thought About Signing Up for Walmart+. Here’s Why I Opted Not To

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It turns out a Walmart+ membership isn’t right for me, and you may not need one, either. Read on to learn more. [[{“value”:”

Last year, in the course of doing research for an assignment, I wound up digging into the details of a Walmart+ membership. And I learned that there are many perks to signing up.

For a cost of $98 per year, a Walmart+ membership gives you access to:

Free shipping on orders from Walmart.com with no minimumFree grocery delivery for orders of $35 or moreDiscounted gas at thousands of fuel stations nationwideFree video streaming with Paramount+Cash back on travel purchases

And more!

For a brief moment, I was tempted to sign up for a Walmart+ membership, especially since it comes with a free 30-day trial. But here’s why I ultimately opted not to.

1. I already have access to free two-day shipping with an Amazon Prime membership

The idea of being able to place an order on Walmart.com of any size and not incur a shipping charge is appealing. There are times when Walmart has the lowest price on an item I want, but my savings are negated by having to pay to have the item shipped.

And believe it or not, I don’t live particularly close to a Walmart store. I’m looking at about a 25-minute drive, or close to an hour round-trip. So it usually doesn’t pay to go to Walmart for a single item. What I save on its price, I might spend on gas for my fuel-guzzling minivan.

However, because I’m already paying for Amazon Prime, I have access to free two-day shipping. So I don’t think I’d use that feature of Walmart+ all that often.

Plus, while Walmart sometimes has a lower price than Amazon, in my experience, we’re usually talking about a given item costing $1 to $2 less. It’s not worth it for me to spend $98 a year to save $1 to $2 a month.

2. I enjoy a lot of savings on gas by filling up at Costco

Since my minivan tends to gulp gas, I’m always looking for ways to save money at the pump. But I already have a solution for that — filling up my car at Costco.

I tend to do a Costco shopping run every week, so while I’m there, I’ll commonly fill up my car to not only enjoy savings on gas, but accomplish a second errand without having to make a separate trip to a fuel station. As such, I don’t really need this benefit from Walmart+.

3. I don’t need access to another streaming service

When you join Walmart+, you get access to streaming content with Paramount+ for free. That’s a nice perk, but I don’t need it.

First of all, my Prime membership already comes with streaming content. On top of that, we have the Hulu/Disney/ESPN bundle and a subscription to Peacock. Oh yeah, and did I mention that we also have cable? At this point, I really can’t see my family getting great use out of yet another streaming service.

Try Walmart+ before you commit

There are plenty of great reasons to sign up for Walmart+, and you may feel that the perks are more than worth the $98-per-year membership cost. But before you get yourself a membership, consider whether you’ll really get great value out of it.

If you already pay for Prime like I do, free shipping isn’t a novelty. And if you’re someone who insists on shopping for groceries yourself, then you’re unlikely to benefit from the free grocery delivery you get from Walmart+. Similarly, if you don’t have a car or already have a source of lower-cost fuel, the gas savings Walmart+ offers may not really matter.

So all told, look at the big picture before making your decision. Better yet, instead of diving in, try the program out for free for 30 days. You may be surprised at how much use you get out of it. Or, maybe you won’t use it at all. Either way, you’ll be in a better position to make an informed decision about whether to join.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Maurie Backman has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Costco Wholesale, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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