Why Go to the Grocery When the Grocery Could Come to You

With the mighty power of the internet, everything seems to be just at the tip of our fingers! One can virtually accomplish just about anything without leaving the computer table — pay bills, shop for clothes, meet friends. Following this online trend is grocery shopping and if you do the groceries yourself, you will probably find this one of the best perks of the information age.

So, why go to the grocery when the grocery could come to you? Two things: convenience and affordability.

Convenience

Traditional grocery shopping is basically driving to the store, looking for the items on your shopping list along several aisles of grocery shelves, pushing the cart in a sea of other shoppers, lining up at the cashier, and finally driving back home. With online grocery shopping, this tedious process is transformed as easy as click and pay. Now that’s how you spell convenience. Need I say more?

Affordability

Online grocery stores usually offer competitive prices as compared to those that are displayed on location. The charge for delivery, which is generally cheap, is made separate so it doesn’t affect product price.

Online grocery shopping also minimizes the chances of impulse buying and therefore right for the budget. When stores offer packages and promotions, you get easily enticed by the flashy signages and the products being presented right in front of you. You then end up buying them even if you don’t really need them. Thankfully, this is less likely in online shopping because you only see pictures and not the actual product beautifully packaged and inviting you to make that purchase.

The Catch?

So the next question would be, what’s the catch? Despite the overall convenience and affordability of online grocery shopping, there are some things worthy to be noted.

1. Delivery rates, although generally cheap, can sneak up on your budget. The charge is usually a specific price based on the amount of your order and proximity to your delivery address. You can make the most of this arrangement by ordering in bulk and choosing a store nearest you. There are also stores that give you delivery discounts on your first return purchase so make sure you take advantage of those.

2. Delivery is not instant and may take a couple of days so when a purchase has to be urgent, you may need to go to the store yourself. To get around this, plan and buy ahead to give enough delivery time. Also, you have to make sure that someone is at home to receive the groceries when they arrive.

3. Some items, like fruits and vegetables, are best when personally handpicked by you, as you can choose the best looking ones or perhaps the ripeness that matches what you need. While most online grocery shops guarantee freshness, the ones they pick out might not exactly be what you expect. Try out different stores and test which ones you think have a better grasp of your preferences. When you find one that you can trust, you will be more confident with succeeding purchases.

Final Answer?

I would say it’s definitely worth a try. If you take note of the things pointed out here, it might just work out for you. Online grocery shopping allows you to save considerable time and energy so you can do more on the things that matter most.

Photo credit — @theogeo