Dive Brief:
- Kroger announced last week it added Disney streaming options to its annual Kroger Boost membership.
- Members can now choose between three subscriptions: Disney+ Basic with ads, Hulu with ads or ESPN+.
- The added streaming benefit follows similar moves by Walmart and Amazon, which have streaming options as part of their subscriptions.
Dive Insight:
Kroger’s new additions to its Boost membership put the grocer more in line with Walmart’s membership moves as companies aim to add perks to bolster the perceived value of subscriptions.
The new streaming option is “adding even more value at no added cost for our members,” Stuart Aitken, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief merchant and marketing officer, said in the press release.
Kroger Boost members who pay $99 annually can select one of three streaming options to add for the duration of their membership, and members who pay $59 annually can select a free six-month subscription once, the announcement noted.
Boost members already receive exclusive offers, earn fuel points and have access to free delivery services over orders of a certain amount.
Earlier this summer, Kroger held a two-week sales event giving Boost members access to exclusive deals.
Membership enrollment for Boost, which Kroger launched in 2021, “exceeded the company’s expectations” for its inaugural year, Kroger said last summer.
Walmart added a Paramount+ Essential subscription to Walmart+ two years ago. For Walmart+ Week in June, the company announced a limited-time introductory deal for its subscription program offering Paramount+ with Showtime free for six months.
Walmart+ members are “heavily engaged” and shop twice as much as people who aren’t members, Venessa Yates, Walmart+ senior vice president and general manager, said during an Omni Talk interview at Groceryshop.
