Smith's

Review by eFreeware

Most grocery apps do one job: they let you order food, or they hold your coupons, or they show you the weekly ad. Smith's pulls all of that into a single free app from The Kroger Co., covering pickup, delivery, digital coupons, fuel points and pharmacy refills under one account. That breadth is the most distinctive thing about it, and it is what makes the app worth a look rather than a passing download.

It is built for people who already shop at Smith's and want the store's savings and services in one place instead of spread across a paper ad, a loyalty card and a separate pharmacy line. If you are a regular customer, the app is essentially a digital version of the relationship you already have with the store.

The app has been on Google Play since December 2012, which makes it one of the longer-running grocery apps around, and it carries a 4.4 average from a large body of ratings. It is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases, so trying it costs nothing but the time to set up an account.

An account is the starting point

A Smith's digital account comes first. A Smith's Rewards ID can be linked to an account made inside the app. Signing up for the digital account and joining the rewards program gives you a Rewards ID.

Registration and rewards membership are limited to people 18 and over. That is worth knowing if you were thinking of setting this up for a teenager who does the household shopping.

The developer also explains that the app uses tools that collect and record your data to personalize offers, make recommendations, prevent fraud and improve the service. That may cover what you look up and buy in the health and wellness section, and some non-sensitive details may go to analytics firms, social networks, technology providers and research providers. The app itself shows no ads. Using the app means accepting the terms and privacy policy, so it is worth reading those before you sign up if data handling matters to you.

Ordering for pickup or delivery

The shopping side of the app covers two ways to buy without walking the aisles: pickup and delivery. You place an order in the app and choose how you want to receive it. Beyond the usual grocery run, the app also opens up thousands of additional grocery and household items, so a single order can cover more than the core food shop.

For anyone who plans meals ahead, this is the part that replaces the written list. Building an order in the app and choosing a pickup slot is a different routine from driving to the store and hoping the shelves have what you need.

I would expect this to appeal most to households that already know what they buy each week and would rather not spend an hour in the store. It is a practical fit for a busy week, a large order, or simply a preference for having someone else gather the items.

Coupons, weekly ads and personalized savings

Savings are handled in a few connected ways. You can browse the weekly sales in the app, clip digital coupons and have them applied at checkout, and find personalized deals, bonus rewards and cash back offers tied to your account.

Because the coupons are digital and attached to your account, the clipping happens in the app rather than at the register. The personalized side is where the account matters: offers are shaped around your shopping rather than being the same for everyone.

There is also a fuel points system to track and redeem for gas savings, which links the grocery spend to what you pay at the pump. Together these tools make the app a savings companion as much as an ordering tool, and they are the strongest reason to keep it installed if you shop at Smith's regularly.

Checkout, reordering and everyday errands

For in-store trips, the app offers Kroger Pay as a fast way to check out. You can also view your purchase history and quickly reorder items you buy often, which saves rebuilding a basket from scratch each time.

The app reaches beyond groceries as well. It also handles pharmacy refills and prescription tracking, plus a locator for nearby stores and fuel centers. Those two features make it a general errand tool rather than something you only open when you are hungry.

The combination is what I find most convincing: ordering, coupons, fuel points, pharmacy and store finding all sit behind one login. Fewer apps to juggle is a real benefit, even if each individual feature is fairly ordinary on its own.

What it costs

The app itself is free. The savings and ordering features come with the account rather than a separate fee.

The trade-off is not money but data. That is the arrangement you accept when you create an account and start using it.

The recent update is a maintenance one: bug fixes and general improvements, with a customer service number for help or suggestions. Nothing in the update changes how the app works or what it costs.

How it compares with the alternatives

A dedicated delivery service tends to focus on getting groceries to your door, often across multiple stores, and may not carry the same loyalty savings or fuel points. A standalone coupon app clips offers but does not place orders. A pharmacy app handles prescriptions but not the weekly shop.

Smith's sits in a different spot: it is the store's own app, so the coupons, fuel points, pharmacy and ordering all belong to the same account and the same retailer. That is an advantage if Smith's is where you shop, and a limitation if it is not, because the value is tied to that store.

If you already split your shopping across several chains, a single-store app will only cover part of it. If Smith's is your main store, the app is the more complete option because the savings and services are all in one place.

A practical pick for regular Smith's shoppers

Smith's is a free, well-established grocery app that does the everyday jobs a shopper needs: ordering for pickup or delivery, clipping digital coupons, browsing weekly sales, tracking fuel points, paying in store, reordering favorites and managing pharmacy prescriptions. With over a million installs and a 4.4 average rating, it has clearly found an audience among people who shop at the store.

It suits regular Smith's customers who want their savings and errands in one place and are comfortable creating a digital account, linking a Rewards ID and accepting the data practices the developer describes. It is also a reasonable choice for anyone who prefers planning an order in the app to wandering the aisles.

The main caveats are the account requirement, the 18-and-over rule for registration and the data collection that comes with personalization. None of those are unusual for a store app, but they are the terms you are agreeing to. If you shop at Smith's often, the convenience and the savings tools make it an easy app to keep on your phone.

What's new in version 99.0

‘Thanks for shopping with us. In this update, we’ve fixed a few bugs and made some general improvements. We value your feedback, so if you need help or have a suggestion, please contact our Customer Service Center at 1-800-576-4377.’