I do 90% of my shopping online; it is so convenient for me to just go to Amazon and find many of the items I need. I'm currently a student so I have a 6-month free trial period of Amazon Prime. The two day shipping from Prime has made shopping online even more convenient for me. I think I'm disciplined enough to not go overboard, but have been tempted several times to order something I really did not need. I can easily see how the convenience of shopping online can become a problem for big shoppers. The only thing I haven't used online shopping for is groceries. There aren't a lot of services offered near me that I can take advantage of, and even if there were, I think they might be a bit on the expensive side. Has any ever tried an online grocery site?
I have been tempted to order groceries online from a local large store mainly because I hate going to the store. I wonder if you have to get brand items only because most of the items I get are off brand. I do not order clothes online yet just electronic replacement parts.
I sometimes buy dry goods on amazon. Their prices on some things are comparable or better than stores and like you, we have prime so free shipping. I always use them for dog food and non-prescription medications. Diet type food like protein powder too. Perishable food gets bought as locally as possible and for some stuff, I'm willing to pay extra for local artisans and small family farms (because it makes me feel good; it's not entirely about the budget for me).
The only ones I could try are organic delivery services because at least you'll get fresh groceries delivered at your doorstep. But they are quite expensive so I wouldn't let the convenience of having my groceries delivered at home make me spend more money. Since I always make a trip into town at least once a week, it's cheaper for me to shop in the local grocery stores.
I would only buy online groceries of brands I had already used. In general I prefer to buy in store so I can check the ingredients and also many stores have special offers only in store. I have used online shopping for heavy items like laundry detergent and cans of soup. For these items that are worth it when they are on special or packs of pasta and jars of sauce to stock up the cupboard. The only thing is to look out for expiration dates as most packers don't look at the longest expiration dates as you would for yourself.
I started into a little research on it (i.e.Log In). I can only pay with cash (although I COULD use my AMERICAN EXPRESS Bluebird Card, I still have to go down to the store to put money on the card). And I think I'd rather use the money to get more stuff than -to laze out while people deliver the little-bit of stuff to me
On occasion I'll buy from an organic place that delivers, but only when absolutely necessary.. they're selection usually isn't what I would choose for myself, size and colour wise etc, I'm very picky. I'd tell them my preferences, but they have a job to do, I'm not about to be a difficult customer lol. I wouldn't use a grocery store delivery service, because I don't use them in general anyway..
When we lived in the UK we used to do online grocery shopping all the time. It was mainly due to the weather being horrible all the time, rain and gales of wind...not nice when you're heavily leaden with bags and bags of shopping! Sometimes we did it when we were particularly lazy to step our feet outside the door, or we had work to do. We shopped mainly with Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose and we absolutely loved it.
I've always wanted to try shopping for groceries online but it really worries me to no end when I can't see the expiry date or the product itself prior to delivery. There might be hidden defects that the store wasn't able to detect. Also, unless the store's offering a special discount or promo, you have to bear with the extra delivery charges and the higher prices.
I used to deliver groceries to certain customers when my dad owned a grocery store. They were usually old and could not get out or filthy rich and could not be bothered with grocery shopping. lol. They had very specific demands especially about cuts of meat and vegetables. As long as I am fit and healthy I prefer to go to the supermarket and do my own shopping. Look at the prices, the different products available. I always buy something new when I go. Just something to try out. Nothing beats being able to browse hundreds of different products on shelves and picking and choosing what is right for you.
Online shopping is great in its own ways but can be very deceiving also. I think people have this assumption that if you buy on line that you can save time and money. The fact is that you have to wait for the items to be boxed and shipped. Then you have to wait to receive it which normally takes up to a week. The other big thing is the price saving assumption that people make. When retailers sale on line they need to make a profit and so usually you will see items anywhere from $5-$10 more than when you buy in stores. Sometimes they do these slick marketing schemes by saying a product is "25% off" when in actuality they just discounting the already raised price. Though, if you look real carefully then you can find some great deals that actually will save money. The prime membership gives you free shipping and there are actual items up there that are cheaper than in stores. You just have to look around before you buy to make sure you are getting the best deal.
I have found that I can buy from Amazon and save money on many items, including food items. Even dog food is often close to half-price on Amazon, and I don't have to pack that heavy bag into the house, Amazon sends it right to my front door. Some things cost a lot more on Amazon; so you have to do your shopping carefully. I always compare with store prices before I decide which way to buy something. Another important thing is how fast I need the food item. If it is going to be for dinner, obviously, it needs to come from the store. If it is one of those little Red Mill bags of flax seed to put in cereal or muffins; then Amazon can probably save me money, Also, They have a re-order program called something like "subscribe and save", and you can get the items delivered as often as you want them and save even more on the price.
I am aware of a few stores that are considerably cheaper to purchase groceries from online, than in actual person. I forget the names of these stores now, but some of my friends used to post a lot about what great deals and bargains they were getting out of these stores by purchasing from them online. Of course, shopping online has its cons too. If i am in a store I can see what I am buying, as far as size and the quality of the packaging as far as there not being dents in the tins and whatnot. When buying online, I cannot do that.
There was a time before when I did do my food shopping online on the Stop & Shop peapod site and they used to deliver to my old place. I actually loved it when I was doing this but then later on after moving I stopped and haven't done it in so long. Maybe some other time in the future I might do it again.
I do online shopping for my clothing most but I found people nowadays prefer online shopping for groceries most and why not, there are so many offers and discounts on these quality products. I like the best part of online shopping for grocery is that I can see my last history of order so that I can decide to buy new one.
The issue with buying groceries online is that they're fairly low value but take up a lot of space and they're also highly perishable if they're not kept in the right conditions, so it's fairly expensive to have them delivered, that's why there haven't been any companies really taking this on.
I've rarely done groceries buying online. That's partly because there's a minimum payment threshold for the order, and the times I have ordered it's worked out a lot more costly than simply popping to the shop as I've ended up buying a lot of things I don't need to make up the difference. And I also still like the principle of browsing around a grocery shop.
I'd be hesitant to do much grocery shopping online. A lot of grocery selection comes down to tactile and olfactory feedback - does this piece of fruit look/feel/smell ripe? I can't imagine that being possible over the internet... this becomes doubly true when you want to buy something for use tonight, so it needs to be 100% ripe and ready to go. Alternatively, if you wanted to buy the ingredients you need for a dinner party at the end of the week, you may want to pick something that is not yet ripe but will be ripe and ready by then. For non-perishables, sure, it'd work, but definitely not for conventional groceries.
I have brought non-persiables of course. I eat a plant base vegan diet and sometimes it's better for me to just order items that I can't find locally online, especially when I lived away from the city. I buy Items like Spelt Flour, and other grains. I don't order food to often online But when I do it's usually in bulk, which last longer of course.
