10 Precautions Tennesseans Should Take When Shopping at Kroger

If you’re ordering your Thanksgiving groceries through Kroger Delivery, the total at checkout probably looks final.

It isn’t always.

Here are the precautions Tennesseans should take when shopping at Kroger.

Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Kroger’s policies and local tax rates are subject to change.

1. Shelf Tag Overcharges

A 2025 Consumer Reports investigation visited more than two dozen Kroger and Kroger-owned stores in 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Expired sale labels led to overcharges on more than 150 grocery items, averaging $1.70 each.

Kroger said the investigation greatly overstates the pricing issues.

No chain gets every tag right every time, so we’d compare your receipt with the shelf tags before you leave the store.

Tennessee Department of Agriculture inspectors are responsible for scanner price checks at retailers.

You can report an item that scans above its shelf price through the department’s online form.

2. Boost Membership Billing

Kroger’s Boost membership offers a free 30-day trial, but you have to enter payment information to start it.

If you don’t cancel before the trial ends, Kroger charges your card for an annual membership.

The catch?

Under the Boost terms, the membership automatically renews, and Kroger’s Boost terms say it may not send a separate notice before the trial ends, unless the law requires one.

To cancel by phone, call Kroger Customer Connect at 1-833-557-4278.

Cancel in the first seven days of a paid renewal and you may get a refund, but only if you haven’t placed a delivery order with the membership.

The same terms give no refund for a cancellation at any other time.

3. Missing Coupon Discounts

Kroger digital coupons do nothing until you load them to your Shopper’s Card, and many offers can be loaded only once per household.

Expired coupons stop working on your card.

Kroger says a digital coupon discount appears on your receipt below the qualifying item.

Missing a discount?

If a coupon doesn’t apply, ask the cashier for assistance while you’re still at the register.

Otherwise, contact Kroger’s Customer Service Center.

If the product is out of stock, rain checks or “make good” offers are at the manager’s discretion.

4. Points Expiration

Kroger Points expire on the last day of the month after you earn them, so Points you earn in March expire on April 30.

You earn 1 Point for every $1 spent on most groceries, and every 100 Points takes $1 off groceries, up to a daily limit of 1,000 Points.

That’s about 1% back.

Kroger’s terms say it can change or end the program without notice, so a big balance on your card isn’t money in the bank.

5. Pickup Substitutions

If you order Kroger Pickup, you pay the price of any substitute you accept.

Don’t like the swap?

When you arrive, your Pickup associate reviews any substitutions, and you may refuse them before the order is loaded into your car.

Kroger says you can also return substitutes to a store at any time for a full refund.

If the same type of out-of-stock item is available in a larger quantity, your order is upgraded to the larger item.

6. Delivery Order Estimates

Your Kroger Delivery checkout total is an estimate, and coupons, substitutions, taxes, weighted items or price updates can change it.

Your bank can also hold that estimated amount for 3 to 7 business days, which may reduce your available funds or credit.

So which amount counts?

Kroger says it charges the final total, and not until the order is delivered.

A final charge that lands far from the estimate is worth asking Kroger about.

Instacart refunds the Express Delivery surcharge when an Express order arrives more than 15 minutes late.

7. Fuel Discount Limits

Kroger's fuel discount takes 10 cents off a gallon for every 100 Points you redeem, up to $1 a gallon.

That discount covers up to 35 gallons of fuel per transaction, so any gallons past the 35th in your fill-up aren't discounted.

The discount isn't valid with any other fuel offer, according to Kroger's Points terms.

Limits may vary by location.

8. Davidson County's Food Tax Cut

If you shop at a Kroger in Davidson County, the local sales tax rate on food and food ingredients dropped to 1.75% on November 1, 2026.

Tennessee's 4% state rate on food didn't change, so groceries in the county now carry a combined 5.75%.

Not every item qualifies.

Under Tennessee's definition of food and food ingredients, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, candy, dietary supplements and prepared food don't count.

Everything outside that definition stays at the county's 2.25% local rate.

A Kroger receipt that mixes groceries with candy or a supplement won't come to 5.75% tax on the total.

So sort out which items count as food before you decide the tax looks wrong.

9. Freshness and Date Labels

Kroger's Freshness Guarantee promises a replacement or refund if you don't love an item.

For an item bought in the store, Kroger says an immediate replacement means bringing it back to your store.

Refunds take longer.

Once a refund is confirmed, it takes 5-7 business days to reach your payment method.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says federal regulations don't require product dating except on infant formula, so a package may not carry a date at all.

10. Privacy Rights and Appeals

Kroger's privacy policy lets you ask it to stop sharing your personal data for targeted advertising.

You can also ask it to stop making your data available in a way that counts as a sale.

Use the Privacy Preference Center online, or call 1-800-576-4377 and tell the representative you want to exercise a privacy right.

Tennessee's Information Protection Act took effect July 1, 2025, and lets residents opt out of targeted advertising, profiling or the sale of their personal information.