It’s no surprise that online shopping has revolutionized the commerce market; it makes finding exactly what you want much easier, and allows you to have your purchases delivered right to your door. Comparing items is as simple as clicking around on two different pages, rather than toting around town visiting store after store to try to find the best deals.
One of the best websites to revolutionize online shopping is Amazon. It started with making book sales affordable and convenient, and since then, has evolved into the most convenient online marketplace, with unbelievable deals, a seemingly endless variety of options, and often, free shipping. But over time, Amazon has evolved to offer some unique services that strive to make your home life simpler; one of these services is Amazon Prime Pantry.
This article will explain absolutely everything you need to know about Amazon Pantry, including:
- What Amazon Pantry is
- How it works
- How to sign up
- How to start using it
- Amazon Prime Pantry’s best features
- Other Amazon services you should try out if you’re using pantry
If you’re ready to change your home life, read on to learn more about Prime Pantry.
What is Amazon Pantry?
Amazon Prime Pantry is a service offered by Amazon that allows users to purchase grocery items and household products in everyday sizes, filling up a box of things they really need for their purchases. The box of items is delivered as often as the user wants, with exactly what they need.
How does Amazon Pantry work?
With your Amazon account, you can browse the Amazon Pantry page, select the items you want to fill your delivery box with, and pay for them, as well as a flat rate of $5.99 per delivery. There are frequently coupons and sales, as well as access to special items such as Whole Foods items.
When shopping, each item will show what percentage of your box it will fill, so you can continue adding items until you reach 100%, and remove items as you see fit to get exactly what you want.
You must have an Amazon Prime account to get access to the pantry, but for many people, it may be worth it.
Where does Amazon Prime Pantry deliver?
Currently, Amazon Panty will only deliver to the contiguous United States (48 states excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Check out this article on Amazon to learn more about shipping restrictions for Prime Pantry.
How to sign up for Amazon Pantry
- In a web browser, go to www.amazon.com, sign into your Amazon account, or create one.
- Visit the landing page for Amazon Prime.
- Click Start Your 30-Day Prime Free Trial.
- Visit the Amazon Prime Pantry landing page.
- Begin shopping, fill your pantry box with the items you want to purchase, and checkout as normal.
Notes about signing up for Prime Pantry:
- To get access to Prime Pantry and all of its exclusive deals, you must be an Amazon Prime member, and not just have a regular Amazon account.
- If you’re not already a Prime Member, you get access to a free 30-day trial.
- If you sign up for Amazon Prime, your membership will automatically begin after the free trial, but you can choose between paying $10.99/month, or $99 annually.
- You can cancel a membership to Amazon Prime anytime – there is no commitment necessary.
- You do need an Amazon Prime account to use Prime Pantry, but you are not required to use it simply because you are a Prime member.
- Prime members get access to additional deals and discounts on other Amazon items as well, and in many cases, get free, 2-day shipping on their regular Amazon orders.
- If you’ve never created an Amazon account before and you need some assistance, check out this free tutorial that can tell you how to do it, step-by-step.
How to use Amazon Pantry
Shopping for what you want
With Prime Pantry, you can look for exactly the items you want. Everything is sorted into categories and sub-categories, so you can browse, or search directly for the things you want. Common categories you can look through include:
- Food
- Beverages
- Household & Pets
- Beauty & Grooming
- Wellness & Healthcare
- Whole Foods Market
- Coupons & Deals
You can also choose from things that are new in your favorite categories, or by what’s currently on sale.
Filling up your box
As you shop, you can see how much of your box will be filled by each item that you buy. Larger items such as laundry detergent obviously take up more space, while things like small bags of dried fruits or cans can take up as little as 2% of your box. Shop until you reach 100%, and choose whatever items you need.
The items you buy are in “everyday sizes,” not in bulk, so you can generally fit quite a few things within one order. The boxes you purchase from Prime Pantry can hold up to 45 pounds or 4 cubic feet of products.
Placing an order
While shopping on Amazon, you can choose to shop on the Prime Pantry page, or simply search through Amazon regularly. Any item that is eligible for Prime Pantry will have the Prime Pantry symbol next to it.
Once you click on an eligible Pantry item and add it to your cart, a pantry box will automatically open up within your cart. Continue adding eligible items, and then click Checkout when you’re ready. As always, verify your delivery address and billing details before processing your order, but this process is essentially the same as placing any other order on Amazon.
Saving items for future orders
If you want to keep your box running, and add to it until it is full, simply click Save All Prime Pantry Items for Later within your cart. That way, you can keep filling your box until it gets closer to 100% capacity, which gives you more value for your $5.99 flat rate delivery fee. However, you can still process the order and have it shipped whenever you need your items; your Prime Pantry box can be as full or as empty as you like.
5 best Amazon Pantry features
1. The convenience is simply unparalleled.
It is simply impossible to have a more convenient shopping experience. You need only browse through items you want from the comfort of your own home, and continue adding items to a box until it’s full. Then, for a low flat rate, the items are delivered right to your door – you don’t even need to step outside.
This kind of shopping is simply better than going to the grocery store each week, and saves you endless hours of walking though stores, needing to visit multiple stores to get all your shopping done, and the gas you spend driving out each week to complete all of your errands. With Prime Pantry, everything is in one place, and $5.99 seems like a small price to pay to get it all brought right to you.
2. You can browse on-sale items and eligible coupons as you shop.
Amazon doesn’t make you hunt around for deals – they always tell you what’s on sale right away. Not only that, but weekly coupons apply to Amazon Pantry just as they do to grocery stores. Though Amazon revolutionized the online sale market, when it comes to food, expiry dates and overstocked items still apply, so you still get the same kind of discounts.
The pros to Prime Pantry coupons vs. traditional grocery stores is you don’t need to hunt around on websites or in weekly flyers to get discounts. If you’re looking at an item and a coupon is available, Amazon shows you right away, so you know you can save money for buying that specific item.
3. Your value per item is shown based on typical usage.
This feature is incredible, as it puts the money you’re spending into a perspective you can understand. When you’re standing in the aisle at the grocery store looking at laundry detergents, and trying to compare their value per load, it isn’t always easy. With Prime Pantry, those values are listed right beside the item – so you don’t even need to think about it!
You know while shopping what the price per load of laundry is, price per garbage bag, price per oz. of food, and so on are – before you even buy. This helps put your weekly shopping into perspective, and can assist with keeping track of what you spend, or help with shopping on a budget.
4. You can compare items immediately, and get everything else you need from Amazon.
Instantly compare your favorite brands, check out their value, and see if they are on sale. You don’t need to go from store to store to accomplish this; with Prime Pantry, it is literally all on one page. A simple search for breakfast cereal will present you with all your options for the week on one page, so you can browse through and make the best choices for you and your household.
5. Access to Whole Foods products.
Amazon also recently acquired Whole Foods, which many of us love to shop at. Their quality organic items are a healthy alternative to many processed foods in regular grocery stores, and in general, their items tend to last much longer because of their quality. If you love to shop Whole Foods but don’t have one close by, or you simply don’t want to make the trip out to one of their brick and mortar stores, you can now get access to all your favorite Whole Foods items with Amazon Prime Pantry.
Other Amazon features you need to check out if you’re using Pantry
If you’re on board with Pantry, you’ll soon realize that Amazon is doing all they can to help make your home a better place, and make it much more convenient for you to complete daily tasks. They also want you to save money on great Amazon services. If you’re interested, check out some of these other great features you can get from Amazon.
- Amazon Prime – If you sign up for Pantry, by default, you will have to have signed up for a Prime membership. With this membership comes some great perks, including discounts on many items on Amazon, and free two-day shipping on eligible Prime items (which is a lot of what’s available on Amazon.com).
- Amazon Dash Buttons – The future is here with Dash Buttons. If you have an Amazon account, you can purchase a Dash Button, which is a small, compact button for the brands you like to buy. It is mounted in your home (usually near where you use that item), and when you press the button, Amazon will automatically re-order your typical order of that item, and have it shipped to your home.
- Amazon Echo and Alexa – The Echo device from Amazon is a small device that you place in your home that is enabled with Amazon’s smart assistant Alexa, who can help you with all of the daily routines around your house. She can set timers for you, complete searches, tell you the weather, read audiobooks to you, play music, and so much more. She can even order items for you off of Amazon just from a simple voice command!
- Amazon Prime Video – With a Prime membership, you get access to Prime Video, which is Amazon’s TV and movie streaming service. Get unlimited access to thousands of titles you know and love, and some original Amazon content.
- Amazon Prime Music – Similar to Prime Video, with a Prime membership, you get access to Prime Music, which has over 2 million song titles you can listen to – ad free. You get playlists made just for you, and original radio stations you can listen to, and fall in love with.
Sounds pretty cool right? If you think Prime Pantry may be your thing, you should consider checking out our free online course on Amazon.
