Rakuten's top grocery rates
Rakuten currently publishes cashback on 16 of the grocery retailers we track on DealTrackr, with rates ranging from 1.6% on the lowest-paying brand up to 7.6% on Target at the top of the list. The category-wide average rate at Rakuten right now is 4.6%, and the top 12 retailers below collectively account for the great majority of US online grocery spend tracked by mainstream affiliate networks.
| Rank | Retailer | Rakuten rate | Compare 8 portals |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Target | 7.6% | Side by side → |
| #2 | Costco | 7.3% | Side by side → |
| #3 | Better Bears Foods Inc | 6.4% | Side by side → |
| #4 | Whole Foods | 6.2% | Side by side → |
| #5 | Walmart | 5.9% | Side by side → |
| #6 | Alva Cookware | 5.3% | Side by side → |
| #7 | Instacart | 4.9% | Side by side → |
| #8 | Kroger | 4.7% | Side by side → |
| #9 | Misfits Market | 4.6% | Side by side → |
| #10 | Aicook | 3.8% | Side by side → |
| #11 | Thrive Market | 3.7% | Side by side → |
| #12 | Blue Apron | 3.3% | Side by side → |
Related reading on DealTrackr: the four-layer stacking method, Rakuten payout calendar, and how to file a missing-cashback claim.
Why Grocery rates vary so widely on Rakuten
Cashback portals do not set rates uniformly across a category — every published rate is a downstream pass-through of the affiliate commission the portal currently has negotiated with the individual merchant, minus the portal's revenue share. Within Grocery specifically, that commission is influenced by the brand's seasonal margin profile, the brand's current paid-marketing budget, and whether Rakuten is currently inside a contractual rate-boost window for that merchant. The result is that two grocery brands selling near-identical merchandise can publish materially different cashback rates at Rakuten on the same day, and the top of the list above is more useful than a single category-wide average for shopping decisions.
How to actually maximize grocery cashback
The two highest-leverage tactics are: first, before clicking through any grocery retailer, glance at the per-store comparison page to confirm Rakuten is in fact the highest-paying portal that day for the specific brand — see for example the Target comparison, where Rakuten may or may not currently lead. Second, layer the order with a verified DealTrackr promo code from the retailer's Grocery deals page before submitting payment. The full per-category stacking walk-through is on the Grocery stacking guide.