Honest Reviews

Thrive Market - Best Kept Hidden Secret to Amazing Savings.


Thrive Market is a one-stop-shop for your natural and organic needs. You will find organic foods, household supplies, hygiene needs, beauty products, and many other items. Some of them are easier to get access to and are cheaper than in your usual grocery store. Thrive is a great place to look for items that might be hard to find somewhere else because they are specialty.

Trive Market amazing savings

Many people might agree that we are living in increasingly fast-paced environment and have less time to dedicate to shopping, meal planning, and cooking. We still strive to do it at least sometimes. But who wants to work full week, drive kids to various activities, and then spend a few more hours a week in grocery stores? This type of lifestyle is serving great for all the fast and frozen food producers and sellers, but all of that convenience is bad for our health.

Fortunately there also are plenty of new companies that are taking notice and striving to provide options for getting access to healthier food options. Fast and convenient doesn’t just mean processed and unhealthy any more.

One option to make healthier meals without spending hours and hours in the grocery stores is to order meal delivery service. You will get boxes of fresh ingredients and recipes without leaving your home. While this is a beautiful option, it might not be for everyone.

Another option to avoid grocery stores and still eat healthy is Thrive Market. Think of it as your grocery store’s organic section that got expanded and went online.

Membership cost

Thrive members pay $60 per year for the services. Can it be justified as many people doubt? This fee helps the store to keep prices low as the need to markup is eliminated. Each paid membership also buys one free membership for a family in need. Social feel-good aspect is definitely covered here.

This amount of money would be scary if you haven’t tried the online store and don’t know if you will like it. To make you feel better, the retailer offers 30 free days, during which you can browse, order, compare prices, try the service, and make up your mind. Your credit card will be on file and if you won’t cancel before the 30 days are up, you will be automatically charged. Make sure you put it on your calendar to cancel it in time if you think you won’t want to continue. People who forget really don’t like this automatic charge and produce quite a few complaints.

Prices

When it comes to money, Thrive is on the same page with Wegmans, Tops, and many other groceries. Some items might be a bit more, some a bit less, but it all evens out at the end. All this cost does not involve cost of time spent driving to the store and time spent shopping, so you are saving right away, because we all know that time is money these days.

If you want to compare Wegmans Instacart delivery service prices, Thrive wins hands down, because products are cheaper than Wegmans with Instacart and there are no driver tips for delivery. Granted, you will get your stuff delivered the same day from Wegmans with Instacart and you won’t have to plan a few days ahead.

Thrive prices are not comparable with wholesale prices, just as expected. Wholesalers don’t have all the brands available at Thrive, but they are getting better with natural foods offers. Granted, you will have to buy larger quantities of food at wholesale prices, but savings are often hard to refuse.

Overall, you won’t get ripped off at Thrive and won’t get wholesale deals. It’s your middle of the road shopping place, just like all other grocery stores. $60 membership fee is definitely justifiable, especially when we take the shipping into consideration.

Thrive is for convenience a lot more than for extraordinary savings. Yes, they have sales and coupons, but so does your grocery store. It’s all about convenience.

There are two kinds of people that can really benefit from Thrive. First are busy families looking for convenience. Even people, who were standoffish at first, are beginning to see the benefit of getting what you need with a few clicks from home computer.

Second category of people is those that live in places that don’t have 4-5 natural groceries close by. Not everybody has this convenience, but they don’t have to be deprived of healthy choices any more. If you live in the country, you might not be able to get in your car and within a few minutes shop for organic coconut oil and Justin’s peanut butter. Thrive Market can solve this problem and make healthy options available to many. All you have to have is a credit card and a computer, Thrive will do the rest. This can be a very big deal for many people.

Thrive might not work for people who love shopping, socializing, people watching, clipping coupons, and driving. Thrive always has some coupons, but you won’t be getting $1 deodorant and $0.50 pasta boxes.

Thrive will also not work for those that are not concerned with natural and organic. This is not a place to shop for Coca-Cola and Doritos.

Pros:

  • Shop natural products from your couch
  • Great variety of popular organic brands
  • You will see some hard to find organic brands
  • Products are always in stock and easy to find
  • Prices are the same as in grocery stores
  • Free shipping on $49+ orders
  • Three-day delivery
  • Coupons and discounts are sent to your email
  • Many natural products and items besides food
  • Thrive supports the community by providing free memberships
  • Thrive Market’s own brand is a cheaper option
  • Thrive Market app is great for shopping and accessing coupons
  • All orders are saved for easy tracking and reordering.

Cons:

  • $60 yearly membership fee
  • Planning ahead is needed
  • Groceries arrive in three days
  • Shipping is not free for less than $49 purchases
  • Not a good place to buy just a few small items
  • No perishables are available, so you won’t have grocery trips eliminated completely