What Is Kroger's Return Policy? What You Should Know Before Going

It's happened to all of us — we purchased something at the store, brought it home, and realized with dismay that it's not what we wanted. Maybe we grabbed the wrong item off the shelf, or the food is showing signs of spoilage, or perhaps the package is visibly compromised. Either way, we want to rectify our mistake by returning the item back to the store. If you're shopping at Kroger, you have 30 days after purchase to return the item at any of the Kroger locations — meaning, you don't have to bring it back to the exact same physical store where you first got it from.

There are, of course, some conditions to returns at Kroger. The main one is the difference between returns made with a receipt versus without one. Both physical and digital receipts are accepted — digital grocery shopping is fueling Kroger's success, after all. When you bring the receipt along with your return, you'll be refunded for the item with money. The refund payment method will match the one you used when buying the item, except if you paid with a check; in that case, you'll get your refund in cash.

But what about if you already tossed the receipt? No worries, you can still get a refund; it just slightly depends on the value of the returned item. Products cheaper than $10 will be refunded in cash, while anything that costs over $10 will be refunded via gift card.

Special conditions apply to any items purchased through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC for short. This program aids women and children who are at risk for poor nutrition due to low income, and is especially essential in the climate of food insecurity in the United States. If you shop at Kroger through this program, you cannot get a refund on the purchased items — you can, however, get any item exchanged for the same new item. That means if any of your purchased items came compromised, you can return it to Kroger and get a new one.

Another special condition applies to baby formula. It's not possible to return it without a receipt! You also won't be able to return opened baby formula, primarily over health and tampering concerns — though some shoppers reported online that, in practice, this depends on the individual manager of your store, so it might still be worth a try.

Finally, when it comes to alcohol and tobacco products, the return policy for those doesn't actually depend on Kroger — it depends on the law within individual cities and states, so make sure to read up on your local policy if you're looking to return anything from that category.