How to determine if online grocery shopping is worth it

pcmich

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Grocery shopping is usually a chore that many of us don’t enjoy. Between trying to figure out what to put on the shopping list, deciding on the best time to do the shopping, and taking the time to walk the aisles of the store and standing in line to check out. Ugh who enjoys that?

Additionally, some people will do the shopping at many different stores so they can get deals on certain products. I used to clip coupons then spend even more time of the aisle trying to match the product to the coupon. I did save some money couponing and shopping around at different stores, but I used a lot of my valuable time shopping in this manner.

A few years ago we had our kitchen remodeled and our front yard landscaped at the same time. Will never do that again, but really loving the final products. Going out to the grocery store and lugging items around different construction crews made it next to impossible. On top of that I couldn’t leave the house when I had work crews. So I needed to find a different way to get my shopping done. My local grocery store had been advertising their new delivery system and I gave it a try. I talked about saving money by online shopping in my last article, but want to share my thoughts on online shopping. Below are a few of my pros and cons of grocery shopping online

PROS

  1. I can shop when it is convenient for me. Often times I would shop over multiple days as I meal planned or waited for my kids or husband to get home so they could tell me what they needed
  2. Comparing products was easier. It is much easier to sit on my couch read labels and compare price per unit, then block the aisles of the store.
  3. Not tempted by impulse purchases. While online shopping does provide suggestions for other products you can click away and ignore. If the store offers samples you are not smelling and tasting on every aisle.
  4. Stick to the shopping list. I mention in a previous article that I meal plan and shop my own kitchen first before adding an item to my list. Once I do have my list it is easy to type in the product and I’m right at the item that I want to purchase, instead of walking up and down the store.
  5. Best of all the groceries are delivered right to my door. All I have to do is put the things away. Some people may want to do curbside pickup and that’s great too as the store puts the items in the car and away you go.
  6. You can do shopping at more than one store without driving all over town. I have groceries delivered from the grocery store, Costco and Amazon all without leaving my home.
  7. You don’t have to take the kids or your significant other to the store. Having other people in tow while shopping can add to your bill, leaving them at home can save you money.

Pro and con

This one needed it’s own category.

  1. You can use Apps that give cash back such as Rakuten when shopping online. I get a rebate for purchases made online. You can join using my friend referral. The con is that using Apps that require scans in store or walk-in you will not earn points. I use Shopkick while I’m in stores to earn points towards gift cards.

Cons

  1. You may find items in the store are less expensive then on-line. Stores even have in store only coupons. My store actually has a rewards card that gets me discounts on items online too, but not every store has this. Check your store to see if they have an App that provides coupons or discounts
  2. You are not selecting your own fruits and vegetables. You are at the mercy of the pickers. I have had produce with the sell by day as the day the order was delivered. This isn’t a problem if you are using the items right away, but if you expect the fruit to last until the end of the week it may not work.
  3. Items sell out. Something you ordered may be gone when the picker fills the order. When you are in the store you can make a choice on a comparable item. The store I shop at does have an option to let them know if it is okay to substitute an item. I have food allergies and this one has backfired on me as the substitution had an ingredient I cannot eat.
  4. There maybe additional fees for online orders. Some stores charge fees for delivery and surcharges, these fees can cut into any savings.
  5. If you don’t like meal planning and enjoy shopping for whatever looks good. Shopping online requires planning.

What do you think about grocery shopping online, share your pros and cons.

Published by pcmich

Hello all I’m Michelle and I started my Frugal and Healthy blog because as I get older I realize that my body doesn’t want to do what it is suppose to do and I have had to deal with high cholesterol and high glucose levels. I have been pre-diabetic since I was a child and always managed my levels by eating balanced meals. After many years of letting myself go I had gained weight and woke up one morning determined that it was time to look out for myself as my kids are adults and can take care of themselves. I found the 100 Days of Real Food website and decided it was time to cut out processed foods. This was followed by multiple doctor’s visits and blood work to determine that I still had high glucose levels and that my cholesterol level was slightly elevated. Wanting to avoid medication I changed my diet even further, eating ever more healthy foods and instead of my levels getting better, they went through the roof. I embarked on a journey that lead to hours, days and weeks of researching the perfect diet that would level out my numbers. Guess what? The perfect diet doesn’t exist and I found out that any diet was going to cost me more money then I wanted to spend. Not being a dietician or financial advisor I sought out advice online and found so many sites that offered the same advice some that worked and most that didn’t. I want to share my journey the ups and downs and hopefully help some you too along the way.